Stages of attachment

• Stages of attachment


  1. Asocial stage

  2. Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)

  3. Specific attachment (from 7 months)

  4. Multiple attachments (from one year)
• Asocial stage


  Babies' behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is similar, they have some preference for familiar adults and they are happier in the presence of other humans
• Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)

  Babies now display more observable social behaviours with a preference for people, they also recognise familiar adults and do not show stranger or separation anxiety
• Specific attachment (from 7 months)


  Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety when separated from a particular adult, the baby is said to have formed an attachment with primary attachment figure
• Multiple attachments (from one year)

  Secondary attachments are formed, babies usually (29% of babies) develop secondary attachments within one month of forming primary attachment
• Key study (Schaffer and Emerson)


  • 60 babies from Glasgow (most from working class families), babies and their moths wet visited at their home every month for a year and then at 18 months
  • Separation anxiety was measured by asking mothers about their children experiences in every day life
  • Stranger anxiety was measured by asking mother questions about their children anxiety in response to unfamiliar adults
• Strength of Schaffer and Emersons stay

  • It has external validity
• External validity


  Most of the observations were made by the parents during ordinary activities, then reported to the researcher, this means the babies behaviour was unlikely to have been effected by the researcher, so it is likely the participants behaved normally
• Strength of the study


  • It was carried out longitudinally
• Longitudinal study


  The same children were followed up and observed regularly, the quicker alternative would be to observe children at different ages (cross sectional design), however longitudinal studies have better internal validity because they dont have confounding variables of individual differences
• Evidence on the timing of multiple attachments is conflicting
• Bowlby argues that most babies form attachment to a single main carer before they are able to develop multiple attachment


  Multiple attachments appear from the outset in cultures where multiple attachments is normal
• Collectivist cultures


  Family's work together, this means the theory cannot be generalised to all cultures easily
• There may be a problem with how multiple attachment is assessed
• Just because a baby gets distressed when an individual leaves the room, this doesn't mean this is the true attachment figure
• Bowlby pointed out that children also get distressed when a playdate leaves the room but this doesn't means they're attached to them
• This means the theory doesn't distinguish between playdates and attachment