Schaffer's stages of attachment

• What are the 4 stages of attachment?

  1. Asocial
  2. Indiscriminate attachment
  3. Specific attachment
  4. Multiple attachments
• What is the asocial stage?

  1. Age: The first few weeks
  2. Can form bonds with anyone including inanimate objects and humans
  3. Smiles at anyone
  4. Accepts comfort from anyone
• What is the Indiscriminate attachment stage?

  1. Age: 2-7 months
  2. Recognise specific faces
  3. Happier in preference of humans that when alone
  4. Preference for people rather than an inanimate object
• What is the Specific attachment stage?

  1. Age: 7-12 months
  2. Form strong bonds with specific people
  3. Show separation anxiety
  4. Show stranger anxiety
  5. Primary attachment to one particular individual
• What is the Multiple attachment stage?

  1. Age: 1 year onwards
  2. Form multiple attachments
  3. Preference for familiar individuals
  4. Use familiar adults as secure base
• AO3 Schaffer's study: Methodological Issues

  • They asked the mothers to be observers
  • They may have been biased or might have misinterpreted their babies behaviour
  • Observer bias
• AO3 Schaffer's study: External Validity

  • Most observations were made by parents during ordinary activities
  • Babies would behave naturally
• AO3 Schaffer's study: Real World Application

  1. Practical application in day care
  2. Asocial and Discriminate stages is alright because baby can be comforted by anyone
  3. Issues arise in the Specific Attachment stage so people can prepare for that due to this research
• What research was Schaffer's stages based on?


  Observational study of infants conducted by Schaffer and Emerson
• AO3 Schaffer's study: Poor evidence for asocial stage

  • Poor validity in the measures they used to assess babies in the asocial stage
  • Babies are immobile and have poor coordination in this stage so it is hard to see if they display anxiety as it may be subtle
  • Babies may actually be social but the flawed methods mean they appear asocial
• AO3 Schaffer's study: Generalisability

  1. Schaffer and Emerson based their stages on a large scale study
  2. But they only looked at one sample which had unique features
  3. Cultures may be different in other places where the norm is different