Key Study: Schaffer and Emerson
Investigation of Attachment Development
Method
The study involved visiting 60 babies and their mothers at home every month for a year, and at 18 months. The mothers were asked about the protests babies showed towards separations and assessed stranger anxiety.
Findings
Schaffer and Emerson found that at 25-32 weeks, 50% of the babies showed separation anxiety towards a specific person. The attachment was most often with the caregiver who had the most interactions with the infant's signals, not necessarily the person who spent the most time with the infant. By 40 weeks, 80% of the babies had a specific attachment to a certain person, and 30% had multiple attachments.
Evaluation of Schaffer's Stages of Attachment
The study has good external validity because the behavior is likely to be unaffected as it was conducted in the participants' own homes with their mothers. It also utilized a longitudinal design where the same children were observed at each stage. However, there are limitations to the study, such as the limited sample characteristics, as all families were from the same place and the same social class.
Stages of Attachment
The study identified 4 stages of attachment:
- Asocial stage (first few weeks) - Babies show a preference towards familiar adults.
- Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months) - Babies show a preference for people rather than objects and accept comfort from any adult.
- Specific attachment (7 months) - Babies display anxiety towards strangers or when away from particular people, usually their mother.
- Multiple attachments (8 months +) - Babies form multiple attachments with adults they spent a lot of time with.
Evaluation of Stages of Attachment
There are challenges in studying the asocial stage as babies are young and immobile, making observable behavior limited. There is also conflicting evidence on multiple attachments and measuring them, as it is not very clear when babies form multiple attachments. Schaffer and Emerson used limited behavioral measures of attachment, and some researchers believe the simple behaviors observed cannot completely define attachment.
Attachment theory, developed by Bowlby and Ainsworth, is a widely recognized and studied topic in psychology. Recent research on attachment theory continues to contribute to the understanding of human behavior and development. The evaluation and critique of Schaffer and Emerson's stages of attachment continue to be an important area of study in attachment theory research.
In conclusion, Schaffer and Emerson's study of the stages of attachment in child development has significantly contributed to the understanding of attachment theory in psychology. The study's findings and evaluation provide valuable insights into the early stages of human attachment and have implications for parenting and child development practices.
