Stages of attachment

• stages of attachment theory

  Shafted and Emerson (1964)
• research methods used

  • longitudinal
  • natural observation
  • large scale
  • interviews
• measures of attachment

  1. separation protest
  2. stranger anxiety
• stages of attachment

  1. asocial (0-6 weeks)
  2. indiscriminate (6 weeks- 7 months)
  3. discriminate (7-8 months)
  4. multiple attachments (9+ months)
• strengths


  natural setting

  external validity

  not artificial

  represents real life

  can be generalised
• weaknesses

  • 60 infants in same country =low population validity
  • socially sensitive - mothers lie = less valid
  • multiple attachment phase is different for everyone
• Bowlby


  we only form one special/ unique primary attachment and all other aren’t as important
• Rutter 


  all attachments are equally important