development of attachment

• schaffer & Emerson - aim 


  (1964)

  aimed to investigate the development of attachment
• Schaffer & Emerson - procedure

  60 infants (5-23 months until they turned 1 year), infants & mothers from working class homes in Glasgow, visited every 4 weeks
• Schaffer & Emerson - what was measured

  separation protest and stranger anxieties

  -asked mothers about SP in 7 everyday situations

  -mother rated intensity of protest on scale to & who it was directed at

  -stranger anxiety measured by infants response to interviewer at each visit
• Schaffer & Emerson - findings 


  Led to development of the stages of attachment
• Stages of attachment

  1-indiscriminate attachments

  2-the beginnings of attachment

  3-discriminate attachment

  4-multiple attachments
• 1.indiscriminate attachments


  0-2 months

  R and IS important

  shows preference for social stimuli
• 2.the beginning’s of attachment

  4 months

  prefer human company

  tells familiar vs unfamiliar people

  comforted by anyone (no stranger anxiety)

  Increase in sociability
• 3.discriminate attachment 


  7 months old

  preference for 1 person in particular (most responsive person)

  has separation anxiety & joy on return

  most comforted by primary attachment

  has stranger anxiety
• 4.multiple attachments

  soon after stage 3 - after 7 months

  develops multiple attachments based on amount of consistent relationship

  (secondary attachments)
• who do children attach to

  65% of children firsts specific attachment was to the mother

  for 30% the mother was first joint object of attachment

  fathers only 3% first specific attachment but 27% first joint object of attachment
• Schaffer & Emerson - conclusion

  By 1 year old majority of infants had formed multiple attachments
• schaffer & emerson - evaluation

  social desirability bias

  some mothers may be less sensitive to their child's protest

  will want to be primary attachment (might lie) - reduces the internal validity
• Schaffer & Emerson - evaluation

  temporal validity - sample from 1960s

  parental care has changed a lot

  more women work…
• Schaffer & Emerson - Evaluation

  biased sample

  only working class

  cultural bias - individualistic society - lacks population validity