Development of attachment

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  • Created by: JSetters
  • Created on: 02-05-18 16:21

Development of Attachment

AO1: Schaffer & Emerson, 60 infants in Glasgow. Studied for 1 year, mothers required to report the repsonse of infant to separation every 4 weeks. Mother asked to say whom the protest was directed. Primary attachment is not always with the person whom the infant spent most time with, it was how sensitive the caregiver was to the needs of the infant. 65% mother was first specific attachment, 30% first joint attachment object, 3% fathers first specific, 27% fathers joint. Within 1 month of being attached, 29% had multiple, by 6 months, risen to 78%

Indiscriminate stage-0-8 weeks: similar response to all objects, towards the end they show preference for social stimuli, IS and reciprocity play key role here. Beginnings-4 months: Prefer humans over objects, no separation or stranger anxiety, easily comforted by others. Discriminate-7 months: Show stranger and separation anxiety. Multiple attchments follow after 1st is formed, can be with siblings or other people.

AO3: Naturalistic observation- Ecologically valid as it's a real life setting so reflects real life and so findings can be generalised. Interview- Self report so there may be social desirability bias, data may be inaccurate as mother may lie to look good which decreases validity. Generalise with caution. The sample- Lacks population validity, small sample from one area and so is unrepresentative of the general population therefore it's difficult to generalise the findings to the wider society. 

Therefore, it can be questioned as to how strongly S&E's findings support the idea of when & whom attachments are made.

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