A STUDY OF INFANT ATTACHMENT IN GLASGOW Schaffer and Emerson [1964]

What are the stages of attachment? Response Asocial 0-6 weeks Very young infants are asocial in that many kinds of stimuli, both social and non social, produce a favourable reaction, such as a smile, Very few produce protest. Indiscriminate attachment 6 weeks - 7 months Infants indiscriminately enjoy human company. They get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them. From 3 months smile more at familiar faces and comforted easily be a regular care giver. No stranger anxiety. Specific / discriminate attachement The first true attachment 7 months -9 months Expresses protest when separated from one particular individual. They attempt to stay close to the person, and show wariness of strangers (stranger anxiety). Multiple attachment 10 months onward Children begin to attach to others. By 18 months the majority of infants have formed multiple attachments.

A study on infant attachment in Glasgow Observation Longitudinal 60 infants Age between 5 weeks – 23 weeks Observed every 4 weeks until 1 Observed at 18 months

A study on infant attachment in Glasgow Within one month of first becoming attached: 29% of infants had multiple attachments Within 6 months this had risen to: 78% of infants having multiple attachments

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) Measured attachment via (1) Separation Anxiety- If the baby showed anxiety or distress when the caregiver left them –the baby had formed an attachment. ; (2) stranger distress- if the baby showed signs of distress when approached by someone they didn’t know.

Development of Attachments When? First attachment usually formed by 8 months Stranger anxiety usually 1 month later Attachment strength peaks during first month

Development of Attachment Who do babies form their first attachment? 65% mother only 30% mother & another (often father) 39% the person who mostly cared for the child was not the child's primary attachment figure.

A study on infant attachment in Glasgow Most infants maintained one principle object of attachment The primary object of attachment was not always the one who fed and bathed the infant 39% of infants attached to someone other than the person who fed and bathed them Schaffer and Emerson reported that there was little relationship between the time spent together and attachment

A study on infant attachment in Glasgow Responsiveness appeared to be the key to attachment Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and, interacted with their child Infants who were weakly attached had mothers who failed to interact

Evaluation

Unreliable data The data collected by the researchers was based on mothers’ reports of their infants What is the problem with this and how could it have affected the results?

Out of date research This study was conducted in the 1960’s What has changed since this time that could result in this study not being applicable anymore? If the study was repeated today would we get the same results?

Problems with a stage model This theory offers four stages to describe the development children go through in their attachments. But what if, in some cultures, multiple attachments occur before single attachments? Does this make this culture abnormal? Are they bad parents? The problem is families are judged based on these inflexible stages. If their child's attachment do not follow the stages it could reflect badly on them.

The Role of the Father The role of the father in attachment : True or False? Some researchers are interested in the role of the father as secondary attachment figures whereas other psychologists are more concerned with the father as the primary attachment figure. Schaffer & Emerson found that fathers were far more likely than mothers to be the primary attachment figure. Fathers are more likely to engage in comfort and support for the baby whereas mothers are more involved in physical play and taking risks. Lamb et.al has argued that a father’s role in their involvement can be assessed by 3 factors: a) interaction (how much the father engages with the infant); b) accessibility (how physically and emotionally accessible he is) and c) responsibility: the extent to which he takes on caretaking tasks. Patricia Duemmel 2008 AS Psychology

There are cultural variations in the role of the father. There is some evidence to suggest that when fathers take on the role of being the primary caregiver they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers. In recent times fathers have spent less time on looking after children. There are cultural variations in the role of the father. Freeman et al found that male children are more likely to prefer their father as an attachment figure than female children. Women are biologically adapted to feed the infant and produce the nurturing hormone oestrogen which may explain the different roles of father and mother. Research has suggested that fathers behavioural style (how they interact/behave) with their children is different to that of mothers. Patricia Duemmel 2008 AS Psychology