Schaffer's stages of attachment

• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  Aims:

  • To assess whether there was a pattern of attachment formation that was common to all infants
  • To identify the distinct stages that attachment occurs
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964):

  Procedure:

  • 60 babies studied at home for the first year of their life and again at 18 months. Mothers were asked to observe/journal behaviours and interviews were also conducted. They observed attachment to measure separation protest and stranger anxiety
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  Separation Protest:

  E.g. Infant left alone, pram left outside
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  Stranger Anxiety:

  Researcher approaches baby on home visit
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  Results (40 weeks):

  39% of babies main attachment was to main caregiver
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  Conclusion

  • all infants show a common pattern of attachments
  • multiple attachments is normal
  • attachments are normally easily made with those who respond
• Schaffer and Emersons Stages of attachment:

  1. Pre-attachment or Asocial Phase
  2. Indiscriminate Attachment Phase
  3. Discriminate Attachment Phase
  4. Multiple attachment Phase
• Pre-attachment phase:

  • Infants become attracted to other humans but behaviour towards objects is similar
  • This is shown by infants smiling at peoples faces that are familiar
• Indiscriminate attachment:

  • Infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people
  • Smiling at more known people but still allowing strangers to handle and look after them
• Discriminate/ Specific attachment:

  • Infants develop specific attachment and stay close to particular people (distress when separated too)
  • Protest if strangers handle them
  • Do develop separation protest and stranger anxiety
• Population Validity - generalisation across all populations
• Temporal validity - Stands the test of time
• Peels - Stages of Attachment:

  1. Strength - high ecological validity - results can be generalised as it was conducted in a natural environment therefore less demand characteristics.

  Provides credability
• Peels - Stages of Attachment:

  2) Weakness - methodology can be criticised for bias - the mother knows what they are looking for or may want to put the child across as clever

  Limits the methodology as it may not be valid
• Peels - Stages of Attachment:

  3) Strength - a longitudinal study - enhances quality and quantity of data

  gives the methodology scientific credibility
• Peels - Stages of Attachment:

  4) Weakness - cant be generalised across all cultures - Glasgow is an individualist society.

  loses explanatory power as cant be applied to all of society
• Remembering the PEELs - Stages of Attachment:

  1. High ecological validity
  2. Biased methodology
  3. Longitudinal Study
  4. Cant be generalised across cultures
• Multiple Attachment Stage:

  • Babies develop attachments with multiple people they regularly spend time with (secondary attachments)
  • By the age of 1, most babies have multiple attachments