stages of attachment

• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) aimed to investigate the formation of early attachments in particular the age at which they developed, their emotional intensity and to whom they were directed
• Schaffer and Emerson method: the study involved 60 babies (31 male and 29 female). they were all from Glasgow, working class families. the babies and mothers were visited at home every month for the first year and again at 18 months. the researchers asked the mothers questions about the protests their babies whoed in seven everyday seperations e.g. leaving the room as a measure of seperation anxiety and stranger anxiety
• Schaffer and Emerson findings: between 25- 32 weeks about 50% of the babies showed signs of seperation anxiety towards a particular adult ussually the mother called a specific attachment. attachments that involved reciprocity was stronger. by the age of 40 weeks, 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments
• a multiple attachment is when an infant has more than one attachment figure e.g. parents and grandparents
• a primary attachment figure is a person who has formed the closest bond with the child, demonstrated by the intentsity of the relationship. this is usually the biological mother but anyone can fulfil the role
• seperation anxiety is the distress shown by an infant when seperated from their caregiver
• stranger anxiety is the distress shown by an infant when approached or held by someone who is unfamiliar
• based on the information Schaffer and Emerson proposed, they developed four stages of attachment
• stage 1 - asocial stage - this stage occurs in the first few weeks of the infants life. the baby recognises and forms bonds with their carers. the infants behaviour towards objects are similar to humans. babies show some preference for familiar adults in that those people find it is easier to calm them. babies are happier in the presence of humans
• stage 2 - indiscriminate attachment - from 2 - 7 months, babies display more observable social behaviour. they show a preference for people rather than inanimate objects and recognise familiar adults. at this stage, babies usually accept comfort from any adult as they do not show stranger or seperation anxiety. their attachment behaviour is therefore said to be indiscriminate as it is not different towards any one person
• stage 3 - specific attachment - from around 7 months the majority of babies start to display anxiety towards strangers and show seperation anxiety from a particular adult which in 65% of cases in the biological mother. the baby is said to have formed a specific attachment who is called the primary attachment figure. this person is the one who offers the most interaction
• stage 4 - multiple attachments - babies extend their attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults who they spend most of their time with. these are called secondary attachments. in Schaffer and Emersons study, 29% of children formed a seondary attachment within a month of forming their primary attachment. by age 1 the majority of infants developed multiple attachments
• Schaffer and Emersons research is the importance placed on the primary attachment figure. the results suggest that infants form one special attachment known as a monotropic relationship proposed by Bowbly and that other relationships are secondary attachments which are important as an emotional saftey net. for example, fathers may offer a special kind of care and relationships with siblings are important in learning how to negotiate with peers. by contrast, Rutter has argued that all attachments figures are equivalent as all attachments are integrated to produce an infants attachment type.
• Schaffer and Emersons research are culturally relative. there are two types; individualist where people are concerned for themselves/ family or collectivist where people share many things. Sagi et al compared attachments in infants raised in communal environments with infants raised in family based sleeping arrangements. in kibbutz children, they spent time in a childrens home. closeless of attachment with mothers was twice as common than in family based arrangements than communal. this suggests that the stage model presented links specifically to individualist cultures
• a critiscism of Schaffer and Emersons research is the use of stage theories. an issue with this is that the theories suggest that development is inflexible. it suggets that normally single attachments must come before multiple attachments. in some situations and cultures, multiple attachments may come first. the problem is that this becomes a standard by which families are judged and may be classed as abnormal