Schaffer and Emerson

• Aim

  To investigate the formation of early attachments
• procedure

  60 babies were assessed at regular intervals by asking the mothers questions about their behaviour when separated from their mother (separation anxiety) and towards strangers (stranger anxiety)
• findings

  • 50% of babies showed separation anxiety between 25-32 weeks
  • attachment was generally with the mother (specific attachment)
  • babies attached to the caregiver who responded most sensitively to them
  • by 40 weeks the babies had specific attachment and 30% had multiple
• conclusion

  infant attachments develop through a number of stages
• evaluation

  • observation was carried out by the parents whilst the babies were behaving naturally- high external validity (measuring normal behaviour)
  • sample was limited- raised in one area of Glasgow so unrepresentative of other backgrounds
  • longitudinal study- same infants studied over time increasing internal validity