attachment Flashcards
what is attachment?
An emotional tie between offspring and parents, this bond is reciprocal and endures over time. Characterized by seeking to maintain proximity to the object of attachment.
name the two explanations of attachment?
learning theory and Bowlby’s theory (evolutionary)
Why do infants form attachments?
Immediate benefits: Survival, human infants require care and protection after birth.
Long term benefits: Offspring learn essential skills from role models.
what is meant by ‘The primary attachment figure/ primary care giver?’
the primary attachment figure is the person who has formed the most intense relationship with a child. This is usually a child’s biological mother, but other people can fulfill the role.
name the different types of attachment.
secure attachment, insecure-avoidant and insecure resistant, insecure-disorganized.
describe a secure attachment.
Children who are securely attached generally become visibly upset when their caregivers leave, and are happy when their parents return. When frightened, these children will seek comfort from the parent or caregiver. Contact initiated by a parent is readily accepted by securely attached children and they greet the return of a parent with positive behavior. While these children can be comforted to some extent by other people in the absence of a parent or caregiver, they clearly prefer parents to strangers.
describe a insecure-avoidant.
a child with this type of insecure attachment tends to ignore the caregiver, sometimes almost completely. In addition, the child may have little or no interest in exploring the area or having any interaction with care giver.
describe a insecure resistant.
a child with Anxious-Resistant Insecure Attachment is anxious about exploring its surroundings, even when the care giver is present. When the care giver is not present, the child shows quite a bit more anxiety about exploration and may even show strong signs of distress (nervous, crying, etc.). When care giver returns, the child may be ambivalent about having contact and may even show signs of anger toward them.
describe a insecure-disorganized.
Children with a disorganized-insecure attachment style show a lack of clear attachment behavior. Their actions and responses to caregivers are often a mix of behaviors, including avoidance or resistance. These children are described as displaying dazed behavior, sometimes seeming either confused or apprehensive in the presence of a caregiver.
who and what study produced the attachment types?
The Strange Situation was devised by Ainsworth and Bell (1971). A controlled observation, it consisted of 8x3 minute episodes combining the infants’ willingness to explore the environment, caregiver leaving an infant alone (separation anxiety,) with a person unknown to the infant (stranger anxiety) and being reunited with their caregiver. Ainsworth and Bell observed the reactions of American infants aged 12-18 months and categorised them into three types relating to the quality of their attachment to their mothers.
the fourth (insecure-disorganized) was proposed by: Main and Solomon (1986) proposed that inconsistent behavior on the part of parents might be a contributing factor in this style of attachment. In later research, Main and Hesse (1990) argued that parents who act as figures of both fear and reassurance to a child contribute to a disorganized attachment style. Because the child feels both comforted and frightened by the parent, confusion results.
strengths of the The Strange Situation Ainsworth and Bell (1971) study?
The research method used allowed control of the variables, making the results reliable. Methodology that has allowed for study of attachment and findings has been used as the basis for the development of related techniques such as the adult attachment interview.
Main (1999) tested a group of children and re-assessed them again at the age of 9 using the AAI. Finding that attachment type was chiefly influenced by the mother.
Validity of attachment measures – there are discrete categories, if including four types, has been confirmed by other studies.
A link can be demonstrated between early attachment type and later social functioning. Prior and Glaser (2006) relate secure attachment to future independence, achievement and harmony. Resistant attachment is associated with greater anxiety and withdrawn behaviour.
weaknesses of the The Strange Situation Ainsworth and Bell (1971) study?
Laboratory-type situation made the study artificial, reducing the ecological validity. The parents may have changed their behaviour, as they knew that they were being observed. This could have had an effect on the children’s behaviour. Also, the new situation in the experiment may have had an effect on the children’s behaviour the study might not accurately represent their behaviour in real life.
Another problem is that the mother may not have been the child’s main attachment figure. Main and Weston found that children behaved differently depending on which parent they were with.
Main and Solomon (1986) reanalyzed over 200 strange situation videotapes and proposed a fourth attachment type – insecure disorganized, this casts doubt on the reliability of the original findings.
The original sample were mainly middle class and from the US.
what is the conclusion for the strange situation study Ainsworth and Bell (1971).
Different behaviours are an indication of different attachment types.
Ainsworth created the maternal sensitivity scale to rate mothers what were the results?
- Mothers who were more accepting, cooperative and accessible tended to have securely attached infants.
- Infants of rejecting mothers who paid less attention when the infant entered the room, tended to have avoidant infants.
- Mothers who were occupied with their own activities when holding the infant tended to have resistant infants.
