Schaffer’s stages of attachment

• AO1 - asocial stage


  • First stage of attachment.
  • Within the first few weeks of a baby’s life.
  • Baby’s behaviour towards people and inanimate objects is quite similar.
  • However, Schaffer and Emerson argued that even at this stage babies prefer to be with familiar people and more easily comforted by them.
• AO1 - indiscriminate attachment


  • Second stage of attachment.
  • During 2-7 months old.
  • Display more observable social behaviour, with a preference for people rather than inanimate object.
  • Recognise and prefer familiar faces.
  • However, don’t accept comfort from anyone.
  • Don‘t show separation anxiety when caregiver leaves.
  • Don’t show stranger anxiety when with unfamiliar people.
• AO1 - specific attachment 


  • Third stage of attachment.
  • During 7-12 months old.
  • Start to show stranger and separation anxiety.
  • Babies have formed a specific attachment with their primary attachment figure (usually the mother).
• AO1 - multiple attachment 


  • Fourth stage of attachment.
  • Happens by 1 years old.
  • Form secondary attachments with other adults.
• AO1 - what did Schaffer and Emerson do in their study?

  • Studied 60 babies from Glasgow, most from w/c families.
  • Researchers visited mothers and their babies at home every month for a year, then at 18 months.
  • Researchers measured stranger and separation anxiety by asking mothers about their baby’s behaviours.
• AO1 - what did Schaffer and Emerson find?

  • Babies developed attachments through a sequence of stages.
  • The specific attachment tended to be the person who was most interactive and sensitive to babies signals and facial expressions.
• AO3 - ✔️good external validity


  • Most observations (not stranger anxiety) were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researcher.
  • The alternative would be to have observers in the babies’ homes which may have distracted them or made them feel more anxious.
  • Means its likely that babies behaved naturally whilst being observed.
• AO3 - counterpoint; good external validity


  • However, there are issues with asking the mothers to be the observers.
  • May have been biased in terms of what they noticed and what they reported as they may not have noticed certain behaviours or may have misremembered it.
  • Means even if babies behaved naturally, their behaviour may have not been recorded accurately.
• AO3 - ✖️poor evidence for the asocial stage


  • As young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile, it would’ve been difficult for mothers to accurately report signs of anxiety and attachment for this age group.
  • Means young babies may be quite social, but because of flawed methods they appear to be asocial.
• AO3 - ✔️real-world application to day care


  • In the asocial and indiscriminate stages, day care is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any adult.
  • However, Schaffer and Emerson‘s research tells us that if a child starts day care during the specific attachment stage, care from an unfamiliar adult may cause distress for the baby.
  • Means that Schaffer and Emerson’s research on the stages can help parents to plan day care.
• AO3 - ✖️not generalisable


  • Schaffer and Emerson based their stages off w/c babies development from Glasgow.
  • However, child-rearing practices vary depending on the cultural and historical contexts.
  • Means some of the observations may not generalise to other cultures.