Schaffer & Emerson – Attachment Stages

Glasgow babies Schaffer & Emerson (1964)

Aim: To find the age at which attachments start and how intense these were.

Method: They studied 60 babies from a working class area of Glasgow. Children were all studied in their own homes and visited monthly for approximately one year. Interactions with their carers were analysed to establish if and when infants started to display separation anxiety. They measured strength of attachment by:

  • Separation anxiety: how distressed the child became when separated from the main caregiver (which suggests an attachment has been formed) and
  • Stranger anxiety: distress shown when the child was left alone with an unfamiliar person (which suggests that the child can recognise familiar and unfamiliar people).

Carers were interviewed by the researchers and the mothers were asked to keep a diary in order to examine the evidence for the development of attachment. 

Findings: 

  • The first specific attachment was formed by 50% of infants around 7 months old, this was evidenced by the level of separation anxiety towards a particular adult. In this case it tended to be the mother.
  • In 65% of children the mother was the first specific attachment compared to 3% of fathers.
  • Attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infants signals (reciprocity). This was not necessarily the person who they spent the most time with.
  • 75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with the father at 18 months – This finding can be used as part of ‘The Role of the Father topic’
  • Multiple attachments began soon after the first attachment had been formed. By 10 months old, most of the babies had several attachments, including attachments to mothers, fathers, siblings and extended family. It was observed that the mother was the main attachment figure for roughly half of the babies when they were 18 months old 

Conclusion: human attachments develop in 4 distinct stages:

  1. Asocial (0-6 weeks): This is short lived.  Attention seeking behaviour such as crying and smiling is not directed at anyone in particular, suggesting attachments could be made with anyone. The babies behaviour towards objects and humans is quite similar. But they prefer to be with people, than to be alone.
  2. Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks – 7 months): The child seeks attention from anyone and is happy to receive attention from anyone.  Preferences are shown to familiar faces and the child prefers people compared to objects.
  3. Specific attachment (7 – 10 months): Child is attached to the primary caregiver i.e. the person who is most interactive and sensitive to the infants signals. This is not necessarily the person who they spend the most time with. If they are separated the child becomes distressed and the child is wary of strangers.
  4. Multiple attachments (10 months and onwards):Attachments are formed with other adults that they spend a lot of time with e.g. father, siblings, grandparents etc.

Evaluation of the Schaffer & Emerson study

Strengths:

  • External validity/Ecological validity: Since babies were observed in their own homes (a natural environment) we can assume that the study is high in ecological validity; the findings can be generalised to the real world increasing external validity.
  • Longitudinal studies: The same children were observed and followed up regularly. This eliminates individual differences as a confounding variable and means that results will be more internally valid.
  • Generalisability: 60 babies and their carers is an impressive sample size, especially considering the research was longitudinal too. The sample is quite representative of the target population and could provide an accurate insight into the attachments of carers in Glasgow from a working class background.

Weaknesses:

  • Reliability: However, accuracy of data collection by parents who were keeping daily diaries whilst clearly being very busy could be questioned.  A diary like this is likely to be inconsistent in terms of what and when things are noted down. This is likely to show inconsistency.
  • Temporal validity: The study was carried out in the 1960’s, it is unlikely to reflect the attachments and when they are formed in today’s society. The introduction of technology and the online world has meant that family dynamics and relationships have changed a lot.
  • Validity: with demand characteristics and social desirability being major issues.  Mothers are not likely to report negative experiences in their diary write up and interviews.
  • Generalisability: The families involved were from the same district and social class within Glasgow which means that the sample was limited and could present a generalisability to problem to all parents and children. Different cultures have different child rearing practises, meaning that the results here cannot be applied to all cultures and locations across the world.

Evaluation of the stages of attachment

Strengths:

  • Research to support and useful application: A strength of Schaffer’s stages is that they are based on research evidence. Schaffer’s longitudinal observation of Glasgow babies clearly show the stages that babies go through when attaching. Furthermore, the stages can help parents to identify if they are progressing normally through the stages. If infants are not progressing this may encourage parents to seek further investigation to see if there could be any underlying developmental issues.

Weaknesses:

  • Validity: The validity of the asocial stage can be questioned. This is because children at this age have very poor coordination and mobility. In general babies this age provide very limited behaviour to observe. Therefore, there may not be enough data to draw valid conclusions from. This does not necessarily mean that babies don’t have the capacity to think or feel, it is just very difficult to make assumptions about a babies social understanding when there is so little to go on.
  • Ethnocentrism: The theory of attachment has been developed from a study using children from a westernised and individualist culture. Therefore this theory may not have the capacity to have high external validity, as it may not be valid when applying it to other cultures. More specifically, the idea that multiple attachments happen after a primary attachment may not be the case in collectivist cultures where families work together in everything, including the upbringing of a child.
  • Internal Validity: Schaffer base their theory of specific attachments on a baby showing separation anxiety and stranger anxiety. However, further research by Bowlby (1969) has suggested that babies can be distressed when a play mate leaves the room, and this does not necessarily signify attachment. It may not be valid to assume that a child is primarily attached just because they display separation and stranger anxiety. This may be too reductionist, and there may be many other behaviours which could evidence that a child is attached. This makes this stage questionable, as Schaffer maybe measuring the wrong thing when determining primary and multiple attachments.