Schaffer + Emerson's stages of attachment
- Created by: BronwynY
- Created on: 23-08-21 10:47
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- Schaffer's stages of attachment
- Stage 1 - Asocial - First few weeks - Baby is recognising and forming bonds with humans - Baby shows no preference for humans or non humans - Baby is happier in presence of other humans.
- Stage 2 - Pre-attachment - 0-3 mnths - From 6 wks, prefers humans + human faces to non human ones. Makes more + longer eye contact w human faces than non human ones. No preference for a particular person yet.
- Stage 3 - Indiscriminate - 3-8/8 mnths - Now showing preference for particular ppl although calm in presence of strangers/non caregiver. Baby displays more observable social behaviour.
- Stage 4 - Discriminative/specific - Attachment formed. Preference for particular ppl now, separation anxiety + stranger anxiety seen when away from PCG.
- Stage 5 - Multiple - 9 mnths onwards - Bond w PCG allows baby to form attachments w others, most likely secondary attachments (siblings, grandparents etc). Still stranger anxiety. Attachment to PCG is strongest.
- During the first 2 stages, babies sight is very poor so they don't care what ppl look like.
- Aimed to investigate the formation of early attachments, the age they develop and emotional intensity
- Procedure - 60 newborns+ their mothers from Glasgow were visited at home every month for the first year then again at 18 mnths. (Longitudinal study in a naturalistic environment) Interactions with their mothers were analysed to establish if and when infants started to display separation anxiety. (interviews)
- Found - Separation protest seen at 6-8 mnths, Stranger anxiety appears 1 mnth later, For babies who had strong +ve attachments to their mothers - mothers responded quickly to baby's needs, increases opportunities for interaction. For babies who had weak attachments - mothers less responsive, fewer opportunities for interactions. At 18 mnths most babies (87%) had more than 1 attachment + 31% had 5 or more.
- AO3 - Bias interpretation - The mothers gave their own interpretation of baby's behaviour and no one wants to come across as a bad parent, so their interpretation may be selective and the overall findings could have bias
- AO3 - Bias sample + lack of generalisability - Working class mothers from Glasgow, can this exp from the 1960s be applicable to modern day and can this sample be generalised? Glasgow in the 60s wasn't a nice place to live.
- So pps may have acted differently bc they were getting attention from this study (that others in their social class may not have got) and acted differently because they wanted to make a good impression. Also this study only looked at mothers, which is a very narrow view and doesn't reflect modern times.
- AO3 - Mundane realism - because this was carried out in pps homes and in everyday conditions the results are more likely to be natural. Also babies don't know that they're being watched so natural behaviours from them were more likely, and you're just drawing inferences + assumptions from baby beh.
- Conclusion - Attachment develops in stages, same pattern in all and biologically determined. Stronger attachments with caregiver who responded sensitively not the one who spent the most time with them.
- AO3 - Data collection - through obs + interviews supported each other so findings are more valid
- AO3 - Culture issues with the stage theory - Assumes that we all go through these stages in this order which is inflexible. Other research shows you can form multiple attachments 1st. Different cultures have different ways of child rearing, like having multiple PCG may be the norm.
- AO3 - Outdated - Also assumes that mothers are the PCG. Single fathers?
- AO3 - Existence of social stage? - Babies don't do much so its difficult to interpret observable beh as there isn't much to observe.
- Multiple attachments are the norm after 1st attachment formed
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