Schaffer's stages of attachment

• Schaffer & Emerson

  Studied 60 babies all from Glasgow all from working-class families. Researchers visited their homes at monthly intervals. The mothers were asked questions about the kind of protests their babies showed during separation and their reactions to strangers.

  The mothers also kept a personal diary that was analysed which detailed the everyday interactions between the baby and their environments.
• 1st stage of attachment

  Asocial stage (0-6 weeks)

  ->Feel indifferent to both human and non-human contact.

  Limitation)Asocial stage

  Young babies have poor co-ordination and are immobile. This makes it hard to observe and report back any signs of anxiety to the researchers.
• 2nd stage of attachment

  Indiscriminate stage (6 weeks - 7 months)

  ->Enjoy human company over objects
• 3rd stage of attachment

  Discriminate attachment (7 months- 1 year)

  ->Prefers a single person, known as the primary attachment figure.
• 4th/last stage of attachment

  Multiple attachments(1 year+)

  ->Forms attachments other than the primary attachments. They are known as secondary attachments.
• Schaffer & Emerson (AO3)

  Strength)Good external validity

  Babies were observed doing their regular activities in their everyday environment. This means they didn't have any extraneous variables which could have affected the baby. The babies behaved naturally when being observed.

  Limitation)Lacks population validity

  Families interviewed were all working-class from Glasgow which means that the results collected are only applicable to them. Cannot generalise results to others.