Schaffer and Emersons stages of attachment

• The aim of the Glasgow babies study was to find the age at which attachments started and to whom they were directed
• the study Schaffer and Emerson conducted to find their stages of attachment was the Glasgow babies study
• the Glasgow babies study:

  • studied 60 babies
  • from a working class area in Glasgow
  • observed them every 4 weeks for their 1st yer of life
  • then again at 18 months
  • used both observations and interviews with mothers

  they measure the strength of attachments by:

  • seperation anxiety
  • stranger anxiety
• seperation anxiety is how distressed the child became when separated from their main caregiver
• stranger anxiety is the distress shown when the child was left alone with an unfamiliar person
• the findings of the glashow babies study:

  • 50% of infants formed their first attachment between 25-32 weeks
  • this was usually with the mother
  • was demonstrated by seperation anxiety
  • stranger anxiety followed a month later
  • 65% overall showed first attachment to mother
  • 3% overall showed first attachment to father
  • 30% showed simultaneous first attachment to mother and father
  • multiple attachments were shown to form soon after
• the conclusion of the Glasgow babies study was that human attachments develop in distinct stages
• the 4 stages proposed by Schaffer and Emerson following the Glasgow babies study were:

  1. ASOCIAL (0-6 weeks)
  2. INDISCRIMINATE (6 weeks - 7 months)
  3. SPECIFIC (7 months onwards)
  4. MULTIPLE (10-11 months)
• behaviour shown in the asocial stage of attachment

  • 0-6 weeks
  • attention seeking behaviour directed at no on in particular
  • suggesting attachment could be made with anyone
  • babies are happy in the presence of any non-specific human
• behaviour shown in the indiscriminate stage of attachment

  • 6 weeks to 7 months
  • seeks and is happy to receive attention from anyone
  • familiar adults were recognised and preferred
• behaviour displayed in the specific attachment stage

  • 7 months onwards
  • child primarily attached to the main caregiver
  • seperation anxiety displayed
  • stranger anxiety displayed
• behaviour shown in the multiple attachment stage

  • 10 to 11 months
  • termed secondary attachments
  • attachments behaviours begin to show towards different people
  • e.g grandparents and childminders
• +++ methodological strength - obsevation environment

  • babies observed in their own home by their own mother
  • who later reported to the researcher
  • meaning the babies behaviour was unaffected by the presence of a researcher
  • increases internal validity - as the behaviour they are measuring is natural
  • also increases external validity - as the environment reflects real life
• —metodological issues - self report by the mothers

  • parents are busy and so may miss key details when reporting information to the researcher
  • social desirability: parents may not want to report negative events as they are ashamed
  • decreases the internal validity as the behaviours the researchers are analysing may not be truthful
• — study lacks temporal validity

  • conducted 50 years ago
  • and so represents child rearing practices of the time
  • these have changed however - for example mothers and fathers are more likely to both return to work
  • meaning children would be left in the care of someone else
  • the findings of the study and the stages developed do not represent this
  • therefore it could be argued that they cannot be applied to modern day attachments
• +++ methodological strength - longitudinal study

  • same group of children studied over and extended period of time
  • decreasing the chances of indivdual differencres affecting the results
  • increasing the internal validity of the experiment