STAGES OF ATTACHMENT

Shaffer's longitudinal study

ONLY BASED ON SCOTTISH WORKING CLASS CHILDREN

He carried out an observation of 60 infants

These infants were observed every 4 weeks until they were 1 year old and then again at 18 months

Their results showed that infants go through 4 distinct stages at attachment

Responsiveness - appeared to be the key to attachment - intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands + interacted with their child

Asocial stage

Indiscriminate stage

Specific attachment stage

Multiple attachment stage

0-6 weeks

6 weeks - 7 months

7 months - 9 months

From 10 months - children begin to attach to others

very young babies produce a favourable reaction

e.g. a smile to humans + non humans

Baby isn't predisposed to a particular caregiver + babies respond equally to all caregivers

Reciprocity and interactional synchrony are important during this stage

Infants enjoy human company

They get upset when an individual stops interacting with them

From 3 months - they smile at at more familiar faces + comforted easily by a regular caregiver

Accept cuddles from everyone - don't show stranger/separation anxiety yet

Look for a particular adult for security

By 18 months majority of infants have formed multiple attachments

29% had secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment

Express protest when separated from primary attachment figure - 65% of the time this is the mother

Attach to the most sensitive person - not just who spends the most time with them

Infants show stranger anxiety

This demonstrates sample bias

It is difficult to generalise these results to the wider population as we are unsure if we would get the same result if we conducted the same study on a different culture/class

Therefore, the study lacks external validity of the stages as a concept

THERE ARE ISSUES WITH OBSERVING BEHAVIOURS DURING THE ASOCIAL STAGE

Infants in this stage are very young + have poor coordination

They are also pretty immobile - so there isn't much observable behaviour at this stage

This means that any observable behaviours may just be general activity instead of attachment behaviours

Practical application in day care

Shaffer + Emerson = Good external validity

  • Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities + reported to the researchers
  • The alternative would have to be the researchers present to record the observations
  • This might have distracted the babies/made them feel more anxious
  • This means that it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally whilst being observed
  • Babies are cared for outside of their home by a non-family adult
  • In the asocial + indiscriminate attachment stages day car is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult
  • However, Schaffer + Emerson's research tells us that day care especially starting day care with an unfamiliar adult may be problematic during the specific attachment stage
  • This means that parents' use of day care can be planned using Schaffer + Emerson's stages