Schaffer and Emerson

• Schaffer and Emerson's study

  1. Aim: To investigate the formation of early attachment in particular the age which they developed, their emotional intensity and to whom they were directed

  2. Method: 60 babies - 31 males, 29 females. All from Glasgow and from working class, skilled families. Babies and mothers were visited at home every month for the first year and again at 18 months. Questions were asked about the kind of protest their babies showed in 7 everyday separations, e.g. adult leaving the room, (separation anxiety). The researchers also assessed stranger anxiety - the infants response to unfamiliar adults. This was designed to measure the infants attachment.

  3. Findings: 25 - 32 weeks of age, 50% of babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult (usually the mother). Attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and facial expressions, (not always the person who the baby spend the most time with). 40 weeks old, 80% of the babies has a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments
• Stages of Attachment


  1. Stage 1 - Asocial stage (first few weeks): Baby is recognising and forming bonds with its carers. However, the baby's behaviour towards non-human objects and humans are quite similar. Babies show preference in familiar adults as they are able to calm them. Babies are also happier when in the presence of other humans.

  2. Stage 2 - Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months): Babies show more preference for people rather than inanimate objects and recognise and prefer familiar adults. Babies accept cuddles and comfort form any adult and they do not show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety. It is indiscriminate because it is not different towards any other person.

  3. Stage 3 - Specific attachment (7-9 months): 7 months old - babies start to display anxiety towards strangers and to become anxious when separated from one particular adult. The baby has formed specific attachment, therefore the adult is termed the primary attachment figure. This person does not have to spend a lot of time with the baby but it is the one who offers the most interaction and responds to baby signals.

  4. Stage 4 - Multiple attachment (10 months +): Babies start to show attachment behaviour towards one adult they usually extend this attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults with whom the regularly spend time with. These relationships are called secondary attachments. In Schaffer's and Emerson study, 29% of the children had secondary attachment within months of forming primary attachments. By the age of one year old the majority of infants had developed multiple attachments
• Schaffer's stages of attachment

  • Asocial stage
  • Indiscriminate attachment
  • Specific attachment
  • Multiple attachment
• Stages of Attachment


  • Stage 1 – Asocial stage (first few weeks)
  • Stage 2 – Indiscriminate attachment
  • Stage 3 – Specific attachment (7-9 months)
  • Stage 4 – Multiple attachment
• Participant observations


  Increased external validity as the researcher has actually experienced the situation
• Schaffer and Emmerson's study is accused of having low population validity because they only conducted the study on working class Glaswegian babies, making it difficult to generalise to all babies
• 60 babies participated in Schaffer and Emmerson's study
• Indiscriminate Attachment


  Second stage of attachment, 2-7 months
• Separation anxiety


  Operationalised in Schaffer and Emmerson's study by observing the babies' response when an adult left the room