Stages of Attachments

• what happened in Schaffer's and Emerson's (1964) study?

  ->they conducted a longitudinal study to investigate the development of attachment

  ->they studied 60 infants from mainly working class families in Glasgow

  ->at the start of the study, the infants ranged from 5-23 weeks old; they were studied regularly until they were one year old, then there was a further follow up interview at 18 months
• describe Schaffer and Emerson study

  ->every four weeks, the researchers visited the mothers and infants and asked them Q's about how their babies responded to a number of everyday situations in which they would be separated from their mother and also how they responded to strangers

  ->these Q's allowed them to assess separation anxiety, stranger anxiety and the strength of the attachment

  ->mothers were asked to rate the intensity of the anxiety or protest (e.g, a full-blooded cry or just a whimper) on a four point scale, and also to whom the protest was directed
• what were the findings of the S and E study (1964)?

  ->they found that from about 25 weeks around half of the infants showed separation anxiety when separated from a specific caregiver (the primary attachment figure)

  ->this was not necessarily the person who spent the most time with the baby, but the one who was most interactive and responsive to infant signals

  ->by 40 weeks, 80% of the infants had specific attachment to one person and almost 30% had formed multiple attachments
• what was the conclusion from the S and E study?

  ->attachments are more easily made with those who display sensitive responsiveness, recognising and responding appropriately to an infant's needs, rather than those spending the most time with a child

  ->multiple attachments are the norm and of similar quality, which opposes Bolwby's idea that multiple attachments are a hierarchy of one prime attachment and other minor ones

  ->Schaffer commented that there's nothing to suggest that mothering can't be shared by several people
• what are the stages of attachment?

  ->asocial stage

  ->indiscriminate stage

  ->discriminate/specific stage

  ->multiple attachments
• describe what happens in stage 1

  ->asocial stage, first few weeks to 3 months: it's observable behaviour towards humans ans inanimate objects fairly similar- hence the term asocial

  ->S and E didn't believe this entirely as at this stage babies shows signs that they prefer to be with other people

  ->they also tend to show a preference for the company of familiar people and are more easily comforted by them

  ->this stage shows that the baby is forming bonds with certain people and these form the basis of later attachment
• describe what happens in stage 3

  ->discriminate stage; 3-7/8 months : they display classic signs of attachments towards one particular person

  ->signs include anxiety directed towards strangers

  ->here, they form a specific attachment, the person they form this with is the primary attachment figure

  ->in 65% of cases, the primary attachment figure is the mother
• what happens in stage 2?

  ->indiscriminate/specific stage (7/8 months onwards); the babies start to display more obvious and observable social behaviours

  ->they also show a clear preference for being with other humans rather than inanimate objects, they recognise and prefer the company of familiar people

  ->babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any person (indiscriminate)

  ->no usual signs of separation anxiety in the presence of unfamiliar people
• what happens in stage 4?

  ->multiple attachments(9months onwards); they start to extend this behaviour to multiple attachments with other people with whom they regularly spend time with-secondary attachments

  ->29% of kids formed secondary attachments within a month of forming primary attachments

  ->by the age of one year, majority of babies had developed multiple attachments
• what is a limitation of the Schaffer and Emerson's 'Asocial' stage of attachment?

  ->it's difficult to study this area

  ->S and E say that the Asocial stage occurs in the first weeks of life

  ->babies have poor co-ordination and pretty much immobile in this stage

  ->it's nowhere difficult to make any judgements about them based on observations of their behaviour as there isn't much observable behaviour to record
• why is the fact that the asocial stages of attachments being difficult to study a limitation?

  ->this reduces the validity of the theory because it suggests that babies below age of two months are too young to observe properly so they may not even be an 'asocial stage'

  ->we cannot effectively observe children behaviours
• what is another limitation of the 'asocial' stages of attachment?

  -> a problem with S&E(Schaffer and Emerson) 'Multiple Attachment' stage is that there is conflicting research as to when babies form multiple attachments

  ->research from Bowlby supports S&E as he states that babies form multiple attachments after forming a secure attachment to their primary caregiver

  ->Van IJzendoorn (1993) however challenges this because in some collectivist cultures, multiple attachments are the norm and babies form multiple attachments from the outset- they work jointly, in child rearing for example
• why is the presence of conflicting research as to when babies form multiple attachments a limitation of the asocial stages of attachments?

  ->it suggests that the this theory is a culturally biased as some cultures are tight knitted and allow their children to form multiple attachments with different people
• what is a problem of the research done into the 'Asocial' stage of attachment?

  ->it's hard to assess and measure

  ->just because a baby gets distressed when an individual leaves the room, doesn't necessarily mean that the individual is a 'true' attachment figure

  ->Bowlby argues that children have playmates as well as attachment figures and can get upset when their playmate leaves the room, but doesn't signify attachment
• why is the difficulty in assessing and measuring the idea of having multiple attachments a problem?

  ->it decreases the validity of the theory as we can't scientifically work out how one is a 'true' attachment figure

  ->babies can't speak for themselves so we can't assess them and we can't be sure what 'stage' they are in