Stages of Attachment

Cards (12)

  • Who studies stages of Attachment?
    Schaffer & Emerson
  • How many babies did they study? Where?
    -> 30 babies - 31 Males/ 29 Females
    -> From Glasgow, Scotland
  • Hoe many times did S&E visit? What did they ask the mothers?
    -> Visited every month for the first 12 months and then again at the 18th month
    -> Asked what kind of protests was shown in 7 everyday separations ?
  • What are their findings?
    -> 25-32 weeks - 50% showed separation anxiety to specific attachments (mainly mother)
    -> 40 weeks - 80% had a specific attachment / 30% displayed multiple attachments
  • What did Schaffer & Emerson do with their results?
    Proposed a way that attachment is developed in 4 stages - Stages of Attachment
  • Name the Stages of Attachment
    1. Asocial stage - first few weeks
    2. Indiscriminate Attachment - 2-7 months
    3. Specific Attachment - 7-12 months
    4. Multiple Attachments - 12months +
  • What are characteristics of Asocial Stage?
    -> Babies recognising and forming bonds with carers
    >> behaviour to humans and objects are similar
    >> show preference to familiar faces that can calm them
    >> happier in human presence
  • What are the characteristics of Indiscriminate Attachment?
    -> Display observable & social behaviour
    >> preference to humans over objects
    >> accept cuddles/comfort - not much separation/stranger anxiety
  • What are the characteristics of Specific Attachment?
    -> Display stranger/separation anxiety
    >> due to a specific attachment formed - the person who offer most interactions with
  • What are the characteristics of Multiple Attachments?
    -> Extending attachment behaviour to others they normally spend time with - secondary attachment
    >> by age 1 - majority develop multiple attachments
  • STRENGTH - External Validity
    -> Research has good external validity
    -> Observations made by mothers during everyday activities - reported to researcher
    -> If researcher was present to record - could distract baby
    • Highly that babies behaved naturally while being observed
    • can be generalised to everyday situations
  • LIMITATION - bias (counterpoint)
    -> Issue with mothers being observers - unlikely to be objective
    -> can be bias in what they report - may not be significantly important or mis-remembered
    • even if behaved naturally - not accurately recorded