Schaffer's stages of attachment

• stages of attachment

  created by Schaffer + Emerson

  put baby's behaviours into stages that are linked to specific ages and all babies go through them in the same order.
• what are the stages of attachment?

  1. asocial stage
  2. indiscriminate attachment
  3. specific attachment
  4. multiple attachments
• stage 1 - asocial stage

  first few weeks

  baby's behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is fairly similar.

  babies prefer to be with other people and show a preference for familiar people. more easily comforted by them
• stage 2 - indiscriminate attachment

  2-7 months

  display more obvious and observable social behaviours.

  clear preference for humans

  recognise and prefer company of familiar people.

  usually accept comfort from any person.

  do not show separation or stranger anxiety
• stage 3 - specific attachment

  from around 7 months

  start to display classic signs of attachment to a particular person

  -> stranger anxiety and separation anxiety

  baby has formed a specific attachment to a primary attachment figure - the person who offers the most interaction

  the mother in 65% of cases
• stage 4 - multiple attachments

  within a few months of their primary attachment

  extend the attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other people they spend time with. - secondary attachments

  by age of 1 year
• Schaffer + Emerson's research - procedure

  observational study of the formation of early infant-adult attachments

  study involved 60 babies from Glasgow - majority from skilled working-class families

  researchers visited the babies every month for the first year and again at 18 months.

  mothers were asked questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in seven everyday situations. designed to measure the babies attachment.

  also assessed stranger anxiety
• Schaffer + Emerson's research - findings

  identified the four distinct stages in the development of infant attachment behaviour.

  lead to their stage theory.
• strength - good external validity

  Schaffer + Emerson's research

  Most observations were made by parents during everyday activities

  Less distracting for the babies.

  would've behaved naturally
• counterpoint - Schaffer + Emerson's research

  the mothers were unlikely to be objective observers

  may have been biased in what they noticed and reported

  also, could've answered to make it seem like they are better mothers.

  limits accuracy
• limitation - poor evidence

  there is poor validity for measuring the asocial stage.

  Young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile so if they felt anxiety, it may be hard to observe

  means the babies may be quite social but they appear to be asocial due to flawed methods.
• strength - real world application

  practical application in day care.

  asocial and indiscriminate stages in daycare are straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult.

  But, starting day care can cause separation and stranger anxiety during the specific attachment stage.

  using daycare can be planned due to Schaffer's stages