Separation/stranger anxiety

Separation/stranger anxiety

1. Separation anxiety- Distress shown by the infant separated from the caregiver.

2. Stranger anxiety- Distress shown by the infant when approached by an unfamiliar person.

3. Schaffer and Emerson study- Aimed to study the formation of early attachment in particular the age at which they developed their emotional intensity and to whom they were directed

   • Method- The study involved 60 babies- 31 male, 29 female. All from Glasgow and the majority from skilled working class families. The babies and mothers were visited at home every month for the 1st year and again at 18 months. The researcher asked the mothers questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in 7 everyday separationsThis was designed to measure the infants attachment. Stranger anxiety was also assessed.
     • Findings- Between 25 and 32 weeks of age about 50% of the babies showed signs of separation a particular adult, usually the mother. By the age of 40 weeks 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments
       • They created the 4 stages of attachment: Stage 1: Asocial stage. Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment. Stage 3: Specific attachment. Stage 4: Multiple attachment.

4. Evaluation

   • Study has high external validity, as the studies were carried out in the families own homes and most of the observation was done without and observer being there, therefore it should be natural behaviour
   • The study was carried out longitudinally, meaning the same children were observed, giving the study better internal validity. Doesn't have the confounding variables a cross-sectional study would've had
   • It was a good sample size, however the families were all from the same district and social class, therefore the study has low population validity as the findings can't be generalised to other social and historical contexts