Schaffer’s stages of attachment
Key study – Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
- Observed babies for 18 months (observational longitudinal study)
- Looked at the interactions between baby and carer
Aim:
- Investigate the formation of early attachments, the age at which they developed,
their emotional intensity and whom it was directed too.
Method:
- 60 babies 31 males, 29 females
- All from Glasgow working class families
- Babies visited every month for the first year and again at 18 months
- Researchers asked the mothers what kind of protest their babies showed in 7
everyday separations
Developed 4 stages of attachment
Stage Age Response
Asocial 0 – 8 weeks Young infants are asocial in many kinds of
stimuli both social and non. Produce a
favourable reaction, very few produce
protest
Indiscriminate attachment 2 months – 7 months Indiscriminately enjoy human company.
Get upset when an individual doesn’t
interact with them. 3 months > smile at
familiar faces and are comforted by
regular care giver
Specific attachment 7 – 12 months Expresses protest when separated from
First true attachment one particular individual. Attempt to stay
close to that person, and show wariness
of strangers
Multiple attachment 12 months onward Children begin to attach to others. By 18
months the majority of infant have
formed multiple attachments
Sensitive responsiveness – the extent to which a parent is in tune with a child’s emotional
state, can decode those signals accurately and able to respond appropriately and in a timely
fashion.
Key study – Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
- Observed babies for 18 months (observational longitudinal study)
- Looked at the interactions between baby and carer
Aim:
- Investigate the formation of early attachments, the age at which they developed,
their emotional intensity and whom it was directed too.
Method:
- 60 babies 31 males, 29 females
- All from Glasgow working class families
- Babies visited every month for the first year and again at 18 months
- Researchers asked the mothers what kind of protest their babies showed in 7
everyday separations
Developed 4 stages of attachment
Stage Age Response
Asocial 0 – 8 weeks Young infants are asocial in many kinds of
stimuli both social and non. Produce a
favourable reaction, very few produce
protest
Indiscriminate attachment 2 months – 7 months Indiscriminately enjoy human company.
Get upset when an individual doesn’t
interact with them. 3 months > smile at
familiar faces and are comforted by
regular care giver
Specific attachment 7 – 12 months Expresses protest when separated from
First true attachment one particular individual. Attempt to stay
close to that person, and show wariness
of strangers
Multiple attachment 12 months onward Children begin to attach to others. By 18
months the majority of infant have
formed multiple attachments
Sensitive responsiveness – the extent to which a parent is in tune with a child’s emotional
state, can decode those signals accurately and able to respond appropriately and in a timely
fashion.
