Schaffer's stages of attachment

• Stage 1 : asocial (first few weeks)


  Baby's behaviour towards people and inanimate objects is quite similar. Some preference for familiar people but they are also happy in the presence of other people.
• Stage 2 : Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)


  Babies now display more observable social behaviour, wit a preference for people rather than inanimate objects. They recognise and prefer familiar people. Babies do not show stranger or separation anxiety. Attachment is indiscriminate because it's the same towards all.
• Stage 3 : Specific attachment (7-12 months)


  Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety when separated from one particular person. Baby is said to have formed a specific attachment with the primary attachment figure. This is in most cases the person who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby's signals with the most skill
• Stage 4 : Multiple attachments (above 12 months)


  Secondary attachments with other adults form shortly after. In Schaffer and Emerson's study, 29% of babies had secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment. By the age of one year the majority of infants had multiple secondary attachments.
• Schaffer and Emerson stages of attachment study procedure

  60 babies from Glasgow, most from working class families were studied. Researchers visited babies and mothers at home every month for a year and again at 18 months. Separation anxiety was measured by asking mothers about their children's behaviour during everyday separations. Stranger anxiety was measured by asking mothers questions about their children;s anxiety response to unfamiliar adults.
• Schaffer and Emerson stages of attachment study findings

  Babies developed attachments through a sequence of stages, from asocial through to specific attachment to multiple attachments. The specific attachment tended to be to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to babies' signals and facial expressions. This was not necessarily the person the baby spent most time with.
• Evaluation

  One strength of Schaffer and Emerson's study is that it has external validity. Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers. The alternative would be to have observers present in the babies' homes,. This may have distracted the babies or made them feel more anxious. This means it is highly likely that he participants behaved naturally while being observed., However, mothers may be biased in what they reported which means even if the babies behaved naturally their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded
• Evaluation

  One strength is real world application to day care. In the early stages, babies can be confronted by any skilled adult. But if a child starts day car later, during the stage of specific attachments, care from an unfamiliar adult may cause distress and longer term problems. This means that Schaffer and Emerson's stages can help parents making day care decisions.
• Evaluation

  One limitation is generalisability. Schaffer and Emerson based their stages on a single but large scale study of babies' development conducted in working class Glasgow. However, child rearing practices vary considerably according to cultural and historical context. This means that some of the observations from this study may not generalise to other populations.