ao3

• strength- external validity

  it has external validity

  most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers

  the alternative would be to have observers present in the babies homes. this may have distracted the babies of made them feel more anxious

  it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed
• counterpoint

  however

  mothers may have been biased in what they reported - they might have not noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or may have misremembered it

  this means that if the babies behaved naturally their behaviour my not have been accuratley recorded
• limitation -lack of evidence

  poor evidence for the asocial stage

  because of their stage of physical development young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile

  this means that it is difficult for mothers to accurately report signs of anxiety and attachment for the asocial stage

  this means that the tools used to measure the asocial stage make the terms of the stage invalid
• strength - real world application

  they have practical application in daycare

  in the asocial and indiscriminate attachment stages day care is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult

  however, Schaffer and Emersons research tells us that day care, especially starting daycare with an unfamiliar adult may be problematic during the specific attachment stage

  this means that parents use of daycare can be planed using Schaffer and Emersons stages
• limitation- generalisability

  on the positive side Schaffer and Emerson based their stage account on a large-scale study with some god design featurs

  on the other hand, they only looked at one sample which had unique features in terms of cultural and historical context

  in other cultures, for example collectivist cultures, multiple attachments from a very early age are more the norm

  this questions the extent to which Schaffer and Emerson stages can be generalised to other populations