Stages of Attachment

• what is stranger anxiety?


  response to arrival of strangers
• what is separation anxiety?

  distress level when separated from carer
• what is social referencing

  degree that children look at carer to check how they should responf to something new
• what did schaffer and emerson do?

  Studied attachment theory
• what was the procedure of schaffer and emerson?

  1. Schaffer and Emerson conducted a longitudinal study on 60 Glasgow infants from working-class homes, aged 5-23 weeks at the start
  2. The infants were observed in their homes monthly for the first year to identify attachment patterns.
  3. Researchers observed interactions, interviewed carers, and recorded attachment behaviors.
  4. Mothers kept diaries of the babies' responses to separation in seven daily situations.
• what were the conclusions of schaffer and emersom?

  1. Attachments form with those who respond sensitively to a baby’s signals, not just those who spend the most time with them.
  2. Schaffer and Emerson called this "sensitive responsiveness," emphasizing play and communication over feeding and changing.
  3. By 10 months, many babies had multiple attachments, and by 18 months, 31% had five or more attachments.
  4. Mothers were the primary attachment figure for about half the infants, with fathers for most others.
  5. Attachments often follow a hierarchy, with one being stronger than the rest.
• what method was used to collect the data from schaffer and emerson?

  the mothers kept a diary, it was a self report
• what are the strenghts and weakness of using a self-report method?

  +natural experiment (done in their homes)

  -mums keeping a diary is subjective

  -mums can forget details (not very accurate / valid)
• what are the 4 stages of attachment according to schaffer and emerson?

  1. asocial stage (Birth - 2 months)
  2. indiscriminate stage (2 - 7 months)
  3. specific attachments(7 - 9 months)
  4. multiple attachments(9+ months)
• what is the asocial stage?

  Infants initially respond similarly to all objects but gradually show a preference for social stimuli, like smiling faces, and feel more content around people.
• what is the indiscriminate stage?

  can distinguish familiar from unfamiliar people, and are easily comforted by anyone. The key feature of this stage is their sociability and enjoyment of being with others, with no signs of stranger anxiety.
• what is specific attachments?

  Infants show separation anxiety when separated from usually their primary caregiver, and are most comforted by them. They also experience joy during reunion
• what is multiple attachments?

  babies make more attachments to other regular caregivers, known as secondary attachments.
• what are the evaluation points for schaffer and emerson?

  1. strength is longitudinal design
  2. limitation is it has limited generalisability
  3. strength it has good external validity
  4. limitation is the asocial stage has limited validity