Stages of Attachment

• Schaffer and Emerson - Method

  60 babies from Glasgow, majority from skilled w/c families. Mum and baby visited once a month for a year and then once more 18 months after the study started. Mums asked how the baby responds in separation anxiety related situations
• Schaffer and Emerson - Findings

  25-32 weeks of age, 50% of babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards an adult, usually the mum. Attachment was formed with the person most sensitive to infant signals not the person who spent the most time with them. By 40 weeks most babies had specific attachments to an adult nearly 30% displayed multiple attachments
• Stage 1 - Asocial stage 0-6 weeks. Beginning to form a bond with its carers. Infants behaviour towards nonhuman objects and humans is similar. There is a preference for familiar adults who they're more easily soothed by.
• Stage 2 - Indiscriminate attachment 6 weeks to 6 months. Develop a clear preference for ppl over objects. Still recognise familiar adults and accept comfort from adults. Typically show no separation or stranger anxiety. Attachment is indiscriminate bc its not towards any one specific person.
• Stage 3 - Specific attachment 7 months and onwards. Majority of infants start showing separation and stranger anxiety. Infants form a specific attachment to the caregiver who is most sensitive to their infant signals
• Stage 4 - Multiple Attachments 11 months and onwards. Attachment behaviour now extends to multiple adults. Individuals who spend most time with the infant. Secondary attachments. Majority of infants had multiple attachments by the age of 1 year.
• One strength is that it is supported by a study that is longitudinal in design. Schaffer and Emersons study observed infants and mums every month for a year and then again at 18 months. S bc it allows for rich, in depth data on participants as you can see changes in attachment over time. This provides more validity than a one off snapshot observation that only gives you info about a participants attachment in one moment in time. Therefore as the longitudinal study increases in validity, so does the theory based on it
• One weakness is that it lacks temporal validity. The sample was from the 1960s and parental care has changed since then. Parents now are more likely to place their child in day-care if they both work and are no longer likely to have one parent dedicating their time to them. In 2013 ONS reported that the rate of employment for women has increased from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013. W bc it shows that findings from Schaffer and Emersons study cannot be used to understand the stages of attachment infants go through in modern times. Thus the theory decreases in validity.
• Weakness is that it relies on evidence that is hard to interpret. Babies that are very young have poor co-ordination and are generally immobile (especially those in the asocial stage). Therefore its very difficult to make objective judgements based on observations of their behaviour. W bc this means the researcher will have to rely on subjective interpretation of infant behaviour thus making the observations less valid. If the research can be seen as invalid so can the theory based on it.