3.6 Ainsworth's Strange Situation: Types of attachment Flashcards
what does insecure avoidant mean
A type of attachment that Describes children who tend to avoid social interaction and intimacy with others.
What does insecure resistant mean
A type of attachment that describes infants that both seek and reject intimacy and social interaction
Secure attachment
a strong and content attachment of an infant to their primary caregiver, which develops as a result of sensitive responding by the caregiver to the infants needs. they are comfortable with intimacy and social interaction.
Strange situation
A controlled observation designed to test attachment security
What is the strange situation
Ainsworth set up a series of tests to see how a child was attached. She tested separation anxiety, Reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety and secure base behaviour.
What did ainsworth find in the strange situation
types of attachment
Secure: 65%
Avoidant: 22%
resistant: 12%
describe Ainsworth’s strange situation
ainsworth et al - a systematic test of attachment to one caregiver, situation of mild stress and novelty
procedure - observations every 15 seconds of behaviours. e.g. contact-seeking or contact-avoidance
behaviours assessed - separation anxiety, reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety, secure base
evaluate Ainsworth’s strange situation
high reliability, inter-observer reliability > 94%
real world application - circle of security project
low internal validity, children behave differently depending on which parent (main and solomon), though attachment type may be related to primary attachment figure
maternal reflexive functioning may explain attachment better than sensitivity