stages of attachment

• Stages of attachment


  A sequence of four identifiable stages of attachment behaviours observed in all babies as they get older
• Stage 1: Asocial stage(0-6 weeks)


  • In a baby's first few weeks of life its observable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is fairly similar
  • Babies tend to show a preference for the company of familiar people and are more easily comforted by them
  • Babies are forming bonds with certain people which form the basis of later attachments
• Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment

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


  • From around 7 months the majority of babies form a strong attachment to a primary caregiver
  • These signs include stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
  • The person with whom the specific attachment is formed is called the primary attachment figure
  • This person is the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby's 'signals' with the most skill
  • The primary attachment figure is the baby's mother in 65% of cases
• Stage 4: Multiple attachments(9+ months)


  • Shortly after babies start to form secondary caregiver attachments with other people with whom they regularly spend time
  • These relationships are called secondary attachments
  • 29% of children formed secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary (specific) attachment
  • By the age of one year the majority of babies had developed multiple attachments
• Rudolf Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) studied the attachment behaviours of babies and their findings led them to develop an account of the four stages of attachment
• Schaffer and Emerson's research

  • Most of the observations (though not stranger anxiety) were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers
  • The alternative would have been to have researchers present to record observations, which might have distracted the babies or made them feel more anxious
  • This means it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed
• Schaffer and Emerson's research was based on an observational study of the formation of early infant-adult attachments
• Limitations of Schaffer and Emerson's stages

  • 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 quite 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
  • This means that the babies may actually be quite social but, because of flawed methods, they appear to be asocial
• Schaffer and Emerson's stages

  • 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, especially starting day care with an unfamiliar adult, 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
• The study involved 60 babies - 31 boys and 29 girls, from Glasgow and the majority were from skilled working-class families
• Procedure


  1. Researchers visited babies and mothers in their own homes every month for the first year and again at 18 months

  2. Researchers asked the mothers questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in seven everyday separations, e.g. adult leaving the room (a measure of separation anxiety)

  3. Researchers also assessed stranger anxiety - the babies' anxiety response to unfamiliar people
• Schaffer and Emerson identified four distinct stages in the development of infant attachment behaviour
• Strength

  • Schaffer and Emerson identified these 4 stages from the results of a longitudinal observation
  • 60 working-class babies and their mothers from Glasgow were studied
  • data was collected through monthly observations and interviews for a year, then another check-up at 18 months
  • stranger and separation anxiety were assessed
  • it was found that separation anxiety occurred in most babies by 25-32 weeks, and stranger anxiety occurring about 1 month later
  • in the follow-up, 87% had developed multiple attachments
• Limitation

  • the sample used in Schaffer's study may not be generalisable as it only included a group of working-class mothers in 1960s Glasgow
  • this culture is not representative of much of the UK population or the rest of the world
  • the study may also lack temporal validity, as childrearing practices have likely changed significantly over the last 60 years
• Strength

  • as infants and their families were observed in their own homes, the study had a high level of mundane realism
  • the experience for the infants was normal
  • strangers visiting the family home and the caregiver temporarily leaving the room are normal occurrences
  • suggests the behaviour recorded was valid