Schaffer’s stages of attachment final.pptx

SCHAFFER’S STAGES Miss Ogando OF ATTACHMENT STAGES OF ATTACHMENT Schaffer and Emerson studied the attachment behaviours of babies. Their findings led them to develop an account of how attachment behaviours change as a baby gets older. They proposed that there were four identifiable stages of a...

SCHAFFER’S STAGES Miss Ogando OF ATTACHMENT STAGES OF ATTACHMENT Schaffer and Emerson studied the attachment behaviours of babies. Their findings led them to develop an account of how attachment behaviours change as a baby gets older. They proposed that there were four identifiable stages of attachment. Attachment AGE DESCRIPTION STAGE ASOCIAL From birth to two An infant shows similar responses to objects and months people. Although towards the end of this stage they do display a preference for faces / eyes INDISCRIMINA From two to six An infant now shows a preference for human TE months company over non-human company. They can ATTACHMENTS distinguish between different people, but are comforted indiscriminately (by anyone) and do not show stranger anxiety yet. DISCRIMINATE From seven to An infant shows a preference for one caregiver, (SPECIFIC) twelve months displaying separation and stranger anxiety. The ATTACHMENTS infant looks to a particular person for security and protection. The infant shows joy upon reunion and are comforted by their primary caregiver. MULTIPLE One year onwards Attachment behaviours are now displayed towards ATTACHMENTS several different people e.g. siblings, grandparents etc. and are sometimes referred to as secondary attachments. They KEY STUDY: SCHAFFER AND EMERSON (1964) Aim: To examine the formation of early attachments. Method: Their sample consisted of 60 babies (31 male, 29 female) from working class families in Glasgow aged between 5–23 weeks at the start of the investigation. The researchers visited the babies in their homes, every month for the first 12 months and then once again at 18 months. The researchers interviewed the mothers and observed the children in relation to separation and stranger anxiety in a range of everyday activities. Results: The results provided some support for the different stages of developing an attachment. At around 25–32 weeks, 50% of the children showed separation anxiety towards their mothers, expected of the discriminate attachment stage. Furthermore, by 40 weeks, 80% of the children had a specific (discriminate) attachment and 30% had started to form multiple attachments. Conclusion: The results provide some support for Schaffer’s stages of attachment and suggest that attachment develops through a series of stages across the first year of life. RESULTS Age Discriminate Multiple attachment attachment 25-32 weeks (5 months) 50% showed separation anxiety 40 weeks (10 months) 80% had discriminate attachment 40 weeks (10 months) 30% started to form multiple attachments. Attachment develops through a series of stages across the first year of life. EVALUATION OF SCHAFFER AND EMERSON (1964) P: One strength of Shaffer and Emerson’s research is that it has high external validity (ecological validity) E: Shaffer and Emerson conducted the observations in each child’s own home which means that the children and parents were more likely to act naturally. E: This suggests that the behaviours observed such as separation anxiety and forming an attachment in the first year of age happened in a real-life environment. L: Therefore, the results are likely to apply to other children from a similar demographic in their own homes which increases the ecological validity of the findings. EVALUATION P: A criticism of Schaffer’s research is that it lacks population validity. E: The sample consisted of only 60 working class mothers and babies from Glasgow, who may form very different attachments with their infants when compared with wealthier families from other countries. E: This means that we are unable to generalise the results of this study to mothers and babies from other countries and backgrounds as their behaviour might not be comparable. L: Therefore, Schaffer’s study is culturally biased and the results cannot be extrapolated to other cultures. EVALUATION P: Shaffer and Emerson’s research is also criticised due to the possibility of social desirability bias. E: Shaffer and Emerson interviewed the mothers about their children and some of them may not have reported accurate details about their children, to appear like ‘better’ mothers with secure attachments. E: This could cause a bias in the data that would reduce the internal validity of the findings since natural behaviour will not have been recorded about the stages of attachment. L: Therefore, it would be difficult to claim that attachment in all children is caused by these stages and that all children go through the same stages.