hey everyone welcome back to Verity mind in this video we're going to explore the stages of attachment identified by Schaefer in the first year of Life psychologists suggest that attachments are formed between a parent and their child but how does this begin and how does it develop are there certain stages we all go through in order to form an attachment well according to Rudolf Schaefer and Peggy Emerson there are four stages in their research they observed a sample of 60 infants from working-class families in Glasgow and recorded their attachment behaviors at regular intervals between the ages of six weeks and 18 months making it a longitudinal study they visited the families every four weeks until they were one and then once again at 18 months during each visit the researchers asked the infant's primary caregiver usually the mother a series of questions about the child's attachment behaviors such as who they prefer to be with who they turn to for comfort and how they reacted when separated from the their caregiver thus attachment was measured in two ways firstly separation anxiety if the baby showed anxiety or distress when the caregiver left them then it indicated that an attachment had been formed and secondly stranger distress if the baby showed signs of distress when approached by someone they did not know this shows that the baby can recognize familiar people and feel anxious with those who are unfamiliar they found that at 25 to 32 weeks of age approximately six to eight months fifty percent of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety also the attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to the infant's behaviors and facial expressions and not simply the person who spent the most time with them at around 40 weeks approximately 10 months eighty percent of the babies had a specific attachment with 30 having multiple attachments based on their observations Schaefer and Emerson identified four distinct stages of attachment [Music] firstly the a social stage at naught to six weeks in calling this stage a social it does not mean that the baby's not social at all in this stage the infant can form bonds with anyone but this does include inanimate objects such as blankets or toys as well as humans for example a baby May smile and coo where anyone who picks them up and speaks to them whether it's their parent or a stranger as well as when given a teddy bear secondly indiscriminate attachment at six weeks to seven months during this stage infants begin to develop a preference for human company and are more likely to seek social interaction with familiar adults they are relatively indiscriminate in their attachment behaviors and will still respond positively to strangers who show them attention for example a baby May reach out to be picked up by anyone they recognize such as a grandparent or a babysitter thirdly discriminate or specific attachment at seven to nine months this is the stage when infants begin to form strong bonds with specific individuals usually their Primary Care caregivers they will actively seek out their attachment figures when they are upset or distressed and may become anxious or upset when they are separated from them in other words they show separation and stranger anxiety for example a baby May Cry and cling to their mother when she tries to leave the room or if a stranger tries to play with them and fourthly multiple attachment and approximately 10 months going on to 18 months in this stage infants begin to form attachments with multiple individuals including grandparents siblings and other close family members or caregivers they are more able to tolerate brief separations from their primary caregiver but they still rely on them for emotional support and comfort for example a baby May happily interact with a grandparent or older sibling who they see regularly but they may still become upset if they are away from their mother or father for too long so now let's critically consider Schaefer's stages of attachment one of the strengths of Schaefer and Emerson's research relates to ecological validity one of the main problems that often comes with Innovation research is that they are observed in some highly controlled laboratory setting where the behavior of the participants changes because they are in a different setting than normal and they know they're being observed however because the observations of the families took place in their own homes this means their behaviors were in a natural setting are more likely to be reflective of their everyday behaviors however one of the limitations of the research relates to their use of self-report this is because the stages are based on observations and self-report data from the caregivers rather than the researchers which may be subject to interpretation and possible socially desirable answers for example caregivers may be more likely to overestimate the importance of their own role in attachment development another criticism with the research relates to their sample this is because the children and their carers involved in the study were from the same area and the same social class a parent who lives in a different part of the city or in a different part of the country May raise their child in a very different way and have different opportunities available to them in terms of the time they spend with their child as well as the help and support from family and friends as a result they may not be a very representative sample to other families which limits the extent to which the findings about stages of attachment can be generalized to other people a final criticism of Schaefer's stages of attachment is that it may not be applicable to all cultures their study was conducted with infants from working-class families in Glasgow Scotland and it is possible that different patterns of attachment May merge in other cultural contexts for example some Studies have found that in some cultures multiple caregivers are the norm which leads to multiple attachments not being the last stage once the child is around 10 months old but rather right from the beginning therefore it could be argued that Schaefer's stages of attachment are limited to a particular cultural context so now we know something of how a child comes to form an attachment with their caregiver but where does this leave fathers especially when their mother is so often the primary caregiver are they just to play a bit part role on the side in this next video which you can click on the screen now we're going to explore the role of the father I hope you found this video helpful and we'll see you in the next one