Schaffer’s stages of attachment 16 marker
Firstly, Schaffer and Emerson did a study where they researched 60 babies from Glasgow
most from working class families. They visited homes every month for a year and again at 18
months got their mothers to observe babies in certain situations and report back any signs
of anxiety.
Overall, they found that babies developed attachments through a series of certain stages
through interaction, and there are four main stages. Their specific attachment tended to be
to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to babies’ signals and facial
expressions 9i.e. reciprocity), not necessarily the person the baby spent the most time with.
The first stage is the asocial stage (first few weeks) where babies have some preferences for
familiar people (more easily calmed by them) and while they are happier in the presence of
other people, they act similarly towards inanimate objects and people. Then in the second
stage, indiscriminate attachment (2 – 7 months), babies display more social behaviour and
show a preference for people. Then in the specific stage (from around 7 months) , the
babies form an attachment with one specific person (they have a primary attachment figure)
usually with the person who offers to most interaction and responds to the baby’s ‘signals’
with the most skill, in 655 of cases this is the mother, and they also start to show signs of
separation and stranger anxiety, and finally in the multiple attachments stage (by one year)
the babies form secondary attachments with multiple people.
One strength of Schaffer and Emersons stages of attachment is that there is real-world
application to day-care. In early stages babies can be comforted by any skilled adult. Later
on during specific attachment stage, care from unfamiliar adults can be distressing and
cause longer-term problems. This means that the stages help make parenting decisions.
A further strength is that the parents self-reported and observed the babies meaning that
the babies behaviour would not have been affected by any researchers and they would not
be distracted by them coming to observe them. There is external validity.
However, on the other hand, a disadvantage of this is that in Schaffer and Emersons study,
they relied on mothers to self-report their findings back to the researchers. However,
mothers could have been bias or not noticed some signs of anxiety that the babies
displayed, and babies are quite uncoordinated during the asocial stage so some actions may
have gone unnoticed or been misinterpreted by the mothers. Therefore even if babies
behaved naturally, their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded.
Lastly, one limitation is that there is poor evidence for asocial stage. Young babies have poor
co-ordination and are fairly immobile at this stage. It is difficult for mothers to accurately
report signs of anxiety and attachment for this age group. Babies may be quite social but
flawed methods show them as asocial.
Firstly, Schaffer and Emerson did a study where they researched 60 babies from Glasgow
most from working class families. They visited homes every month for a year and again at 18
months got their mothers to observe babies in certain situations and report back any signs
of anxiety.
Overall, they found that babies developed attachments through a series of certain stages
through interaction, and there are four main stages. Their specific attachment tended to be
to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to babies’ signals and facial
expressions 9i.e. reciprocity), not necessarily the person the baby spent the most time with.
The first stage is the asocial stage (first few weeks) where babies have some preferences for
familiar people (more easily calmed by them) and while they are happier in the presence of
other people, they act similarly towards inanimate objects and people. Then in the second
stage, indiscriminate attachment (2 – 7 months), babies display more social behaviour and
show a preference for people. Then in the specific stage (from around 7 months) , the
babies form an attachment with one specific person (they have a primary attachment figure)
usually with the person who offers to most interaction and responds to the baby’s ‘signals’
with the most skill, in 655 of cases this is the mother, and they also start to show signs of
separation and stranger anxiety, and finally in the multiple attachments stage (by one year)
the babies form secondary attachments with multiple people.
One strength of Schaffer and Emersons stages of attachment is that there is real-world
application to day-care. In early stages babies can be comforted by any skilled adult. Later
on during specific attachment stage, care from unfamiliar adults can be distressing and
cause longer-term problems. This means that the stages help make parenting decisions.
A further strength is that the parents self-reported and observed the babies meaning that
the babies behaviour would not have been affected by any researchers and they would not
be distracted by them coming to observe them. There is external validity.
However, on the other hand, a disadvantage of this is that in Schaffer and Emersons study,
they relied on mothers to self-report their findings back to the researchers. However,
mothers could have been bias or not noticed some signs of anxiety that the babies
displayed, and babies are quite uncoordinated during the asocial stage so some actions may
have gone unnoticed or been misinterpreted by the mothers. Therefore even if babies
behaved naturally, their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded.
Lastly, one limitation is that there is poor evidence for asocial stage. Young babies have poor
co-ordination and are fairly immobile at this stage. It is difficult for mothers to accurately
report signs of anxiety and attachment for this age group. Babies may be quite social but
flawed methods show them as asocial.
