stages of attachment

• stranger anxiety

  response to arrival of stranger
• separation anxiety

  distress level when separated from pcg
• social referencing

  degree that child looks at pcg to check how they should respond to something new
• schaffer + emerson 1964

  p = longitudinal study, field study (own homes) 60 glasgow infants, working class, at regular monthly intervals for the first 18months of their lives. observed interactions with carers, interviewed and kept diary of 7 everyday situations
• methodological design of schaffer + emerson

  collected qualitative data:

  • diary
  • interviews
  • observation
• triangulation

  schaffer and emerson used more than one method, which improves reliability
• schaffer and emerson used diaries which are good as they record a long period of time
• weaknesses of schaffer and emerson

  • social desirability bias - self report from diaries and interviews means that people present themselves in the best light, so may lie
  • demand characteristics - as the mother knows she is being observed she may act differently and in turn impact the babies reactions, however the baby will show no social desirability bias
• advantages of schaffer and emerson

  • interviews - qualitative, in depth information
  • field study - natural environment means less artificial, so has more validity
• schaffer + emerson conclusion

  • attachments mainly form with those who responded accurately to baby signals (sensitive responsiveness) not the person they spend the most time with
  • most important factor in forming attachments is not who feeds the child, but who plays and communicates with them
• schaffer and emerson

  • 10 months - many babies had formed multiple attachments
  • 18 months - 31% had 5 or more attachments, mother was primary attachment figure for about half and father for most of the others
  • attachments structured in a hierarchy, meaning one of multiple attachments is stronger than the others
• schaffer + emerson stages

  • asocial stage
  • indiscriminate stage
  • specific attachments
  • multiple attachments
• asocial stage

  • 0 - 2 months
  • respond to all objects the same way, can't distinguish between human and non human
  • near the end, start to show greater preference for social stimuli (smiling face, tend to be content around people
• indiscriminate stage

  • from 2 - 7 months, generally happens at 4 months
  • prefer human company
  • start to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people - still easily comforted by anyone (no signs of stranger anxiety)
  • most distinctive feature - general sociabilty (enjoyment of being with others)
• specific attachment

  • 7 months onwards, generally 7 - 9 months
  • start distinctively different sort of protest when one particular person puts them down (separation anxiety)
  • joy at reunion with this person and comforted most (65% biological mother, 30% mother and father, 3% father)
  • show stranger anxiety
• multiple attachments

  • after 1st attachment
  • shortly after attachment behaviour towards one adult, extend to other adults who they spend regular time with
  • schaffer + emerson found 29% infants had secondary attachments within a month of forming the primary
• sensitive responsiveness

  pcg understands and meets needs of child
• attachments form when pcg accurately responds to baby signals
• how long after the primary attachment, are multiple formed

  1 month
• attachments are formed by those who respond to baby

  signals, not food
• hard to study asocial stage (ev method)

  • baby that young, poor coordination, immobile
  • difficult to make judgements on observations of behaviour as there isn't much observable behaviour
  • doesn't mean child feelings and cognition are not highly social, but evidence can't be relied on
• hard to measure multiple attachments (ev method)

  • baby becoming distressed when someone leaves a room, doesn't necessarily mean they are a 'true' attachment figure
  • bowlby 1969 - children were distressed when playmates left, but doesn't signify attachment

  observation method, doesn't leave a way to distinguish between behaviour shown to secondary attachment figures and playmates
• longitudinal design (ev validity of stages)

  • higher internal validity than cross sectional design as children are followed up and observed regularly, and no confounding variable of individual differences between participants (participant variables)

  cross - sectional design is observing different children at different ages
• limited sample characteristics (ev validity of stages)

  • 60 babies and carers are all from the same district, social class, city, 50 years ago
  • child rearing practices vary from one culture to another, one historical period to another
  • results do not generalise well to ther social and historical contexts