Schaffer and Emerson

• 4 main stages to attachment

  • Stage 1 - pre attachment stage (6 weeks)
  • Stage 2 - indiscriminately attachments (6 weeks - 7 months)
  • Stage 3 - specific attachment (from 7 months)
  • Stage 4 - Multiple attachments (from 1 year)
• Cernoch and Porter disagreed with the idea babies were asocial up to six weeks. They put breast pads, one with the mother’s milk and one with another woman’s milk, in front of the babies head. The baby turned its head towards the pad with their mother’s milk.
• Bowlby disagreed with stage 2, as he believed even at the ages of 6 weeks - 7 months babies showed a clear preference for their primary caregiver rather than indiscriminate attachments.
• Stage 4 - Schaffer and Emerson suggest children are capable of forming multiple attachments.
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  • 60 dyads studied in the first 18 months in Glasgow
  • Longitudinal study
  • Interactions observed in homes and carers interviewed
  • Results showed attachments formed with those who responded accurately to the babies signals
  • Many of the babies had several attachments
  • The mother was the main attachment figure for half of the babies, and the father for most of the others
• Schaffer and Emerson found that it is who plays and communicates with the baby who is likely to form an attachment with them, rather than the one who feeds and cares for them.
• Bowlby focusses on the role of the mother, while Schaffer and Emerson highlight the importance of the father.
• Christensson (1996)

  Fathers were consistently involved in play (rough and tumble) rather than caregiving activities. Mothers took part in gentle soothing play activities.
• Paquette (2004)

  Fathers engaged in riskier physical play activities, and also engaged in active play dialogue while mothers engaged in emotional dialogue.
• Verissimo (2011)

  Correlation with the quality of relationship between child and father and the amount of friends they had in preschool. Suggests the rough and tumble play better equips children for making friendships in early life. Correlations do not show cause though.