Stages of attachment

• Who investigated the stages of attachment and when?

  Schaffer & Emerson ( 1964)
• What was the sample for Schaffer & Emerson's research?

  60 babies (31 male, 29 female) from working class families in Glasgow, aged between 5-23 weeks at the start of experiment
• What was the procedure for Schaffer & Emerson's research?

  • visited babies in their own homes every month for 12 months then again at 18 months
  • observed the children in relation to separation and stranger anxiety in a range of everyday activities & interviewed the mothers
• What were the findings for Schaffer & Emerson's research?

  • at 25-32 weeks, 50% of children showed separation anxiety towards their mothers (expected)
  • by 40 weeks, 80% of children had a discriminate attachment and 30% had started to form multiple attachments
  • infants formed attachments to those who were most sensitive to their needs (sensitivity responsiveness)
• Outline what is meant by sensitivity responsiveness

  attachments are formed as a result of sensitivity to the infants needs, not off of time spent with the infant
• What were the conclusions for Schaffer & Emerson's research?

  • Suggests that attachment develops through a series of stages across the first year of life
  • Provides support for Schaffer's stages of attachment
• What are the stages of attachment?

  1. asocial
  2. indiscriminate
  3. discriminate
  4. multiple attachments
• When does each stage of attachment occur?

  asocial = 0-6 weeks

  indiscriminate = 6 weeks to 6 months

  discriminate = 7-12 months

  multiple = 1 year+
• What happens in the asocial stage of attachment?

  • infant shows similar responses to both objects & people
  • BUT there is a preference for faces/eyes
• What happens in the indiscriminate stage of attachment?

  • infant shows a preference for human company over non-human company
  • gain the ability to distinguish between different people, BUT are comforted indiscriminately
  • reciprocity & interactional synchrony found here
• What happens in the discriminate stage of attachment?

  • infant shows a preference for one caregiver, displaying separation & stranger anxiety
  • infant looks to a particular person for security, comfort, protection
  • proximity seeking & separation distress found here
• What happens in the multiple attachments stage of attachment?

  Attachment behaviour is now displayed towards several people (e.g. siblings etc)
• What are the theories of the role of the father in attachment?

  1. men are not equipped to form attachments, both biologically (oestrogen underlies caring behaviour - men have very little) and socially (child rearing stereotypes of femininity deter men)
  2. fathers are not 'caregivers' and that they provide a 'playmate' role
  3. fathers CAN demonstrate sensitive responsiveness
• What research evidence is there to support the theories of the role of the father in attachment?

  Geiger (1996) - father's play interactions were more exciting in comparison to mothers (mothers more affectionate & nurturing)

  Hardy (1999) - fathers were less able to detect low levels of infant distress

  Field (1978) - fathers can be the nurturing attachment figure as when they are the primary caregiver, they spend more time smiling, holding hands etc.
• What is the evaluation of Schaffer & Emerson's research?

  :) observations were conducted in the child's own home so behaviour is more likely to be natural --> high external validity --> good generalisability

  :( sample only consisted of 60 working class mothers & babies from Glasgow --> lacks population validity --> hard to generalise --> attachments may form differently in other countries/economic backgrounds

  :( interviews with mothers may be skewed by social desirability bias --> reduced internal validity