Schaffer's stages of attachment

• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied the attachment behaviours of babies. The study involved 60 babies from working-class families in Glasgow. Researchers visited babies and mothers in their own homes every month for the first year and again at 18 months. The researchers asked the mothers questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in seven everyday separations. This was designed to measure the babies' attachment.
• Stage 1 - Asocial stage:


  In a baby's first few weeks of life its observable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is fairly similar. Babies show signs that they prefer to be with other people. Babies also tend to show a preference for the company of familiar people and are more easily comforted by them.
• Stage 2 - Indiscriminate attachment:

  From 2 to 7 months babies start to display more obvious and observable social behaviours. They show a clear preference for being with other humans rather than inanimate objects. They recognise and prefer the company of familiar people. Babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any person. They do not show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety.
• Stage 3 - Specific attachment:

  From around 7 months the majority of babies start to display classic signs of attachment towards one person. This includes stranger anxiety and separation anxiety. This person with whom the attachment is formed is called the primary attachment figure.
• AO3 - Multiple attachments:

  Shortly after babies start to show attachment behaviour towards one person they usually extend this behaviour to multiple attachments with other people. These relationships are called secondary attachments.
• AO3 - Good external validity:


  Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers. The alternative would have been to have researchers present to record observations. This might have distracted the babies. This means it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed.
• AO3 - Poor evidence for the asocial stage:


  Young babies have poor co-ordination and are fairly immobile. If babies less than two months old felt anxiety in everyday situations they might have displayed this in subtle, hard-to-observe ways. This made it difficult for mothers to observe and report back to researchers on signs of anxiety and attachment in this age group.
• AO3 - Real-world application:

  In the asocial and indiscriminate attachment stages day care is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult. However, Schaffer and Emerson's research tells us that day care may be problematic during the specific attachment stage. This means that parents' use of day care can be planned using Schaffer and Emerson's stages.
• AO3 - Generalisability:


  Schaffer and Emerson only looked at one sample which had unique features in terms of cultural and historical context - 1960s working-class Glasgow. In other cultures, for example collectivist cultures, multiple attachments from a very early age are more the norm (van Ijzendoorn)