What is attachment

• Attachment = Strong emotional bond
• Attachment = close relationship between infant and caregiver
• Features of caregiver-infant interactions

  1. Sensitive responsiveness (Caregiver responds appropriately)
  2. Imitation (infant copies caregivers actions)
  3. Interactional synchrony (Infant reacts in time with caregiver's speech)
  4. Reciprocity (Interactions flows back and forth)
  5. Motherese (Slow, high-pitched speaking to infants)
• Schaffer and emerson stages of attachment:

  1. Pre-attachment (0 to 3 months)
  2. Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks to 7 months)
  3. Discriminate attachment (7 to 11 months)
  4. Multiple attachment (9 months onward)
• 32% babies have at least 5 attachments after 18 months (the original attachment is the strongest)
• Schaffer and emerson (1964) evidence of attachment stages - method

  • 60 babies observed in glasgow every 4 weeks from birth to 18 months
  • Interviews with families conducted
• Schaffer and emerson (1964) evidence of attachment stages - results

  • Stages of attachment found to occur
  • at 8 months 50 infants had more than one attachment
  • 20 had no attachment with mum or had a stronger one with someone else
• Schaffer and emerson (1964) evidence of attachment stages - conclusion

  • Infants form attachment stages and can attach to multiple people
  • Quality of care very important
• Schaffer and emerson (1964) evidence of attachment stages - evaluation

  • Lot of evidence to support results of stages of attachment
  • Used limited sample
  • Interviews and observations could be biased and unreliable
  • Cross-cultural differences need to be considered