Attachment: Lesson 2 - Types of Attachment Flashcards
What is the strange situation?
- a methodology used by Ainsworth et al. (1970), to investigate differences in attachments between infants and their caregivers
- it was a controlled observation which took place in a laboratory room that had been furnished with a couple of chairs and some toys
- The researchers observed the infants in a series of three-minute episodes:
mother and baby,
stranger enters,
mother leaves,
mother returns, etc.
-They recorded an infant’s proximity seeking, stranger anxiety and reunion joy to determine an infant’s type of attachment
What are the main three types of attachment?
Type A - Insecure Avoidant
Type B - Secure Attachment
Type C - insecure resistant
What is Type A - Insecure-Avoidant Attachment?
- 20% of babies and attachments that were classified as Insecure- avoidant
- an attachment style where babies largely ignore their caregiver and play independently
- show no separation protest when caregiver is absent
- show no reunion joy when caregiver returns
- is distressed when completely alone but is comforted by a stranger
- caregiver and stranger are treated in the same way
What is Type B - Secure attachment?
- 70% of babies were described as secure-attached
- the attachment type where babies will happily play while the caregiver is present and use them as a safe base while they explore the room and play with the toys
- shows separation protest when caregiver leaves
- shows reunion joy when they return
- caregiver easily comforts the,
- baby is wary of the stranger (stranger anxiety) but accepts some comfort from them when caregiver is absent
What is Type C - insecure-resistant?
- 10 of babies were put in this category
- more fussy that other babies
- cry more
- will not explore the room or play with the toys much
- shows extreme separation protest when caregiver leaves
- no reunion joy when caregiver resturns
- strongly resist strangers attempts to make contact (extreme stranger anxiety
Evaluation of the Strange situation (gender bias) (-)
- gender biased because it has only ever been carried out using mothers
- children might be insecurely attached to their mothers securely attached to their fathers
- strange situation is therefore not measuring a child’s overall attachment style but their attachment to one individual
- Main and Weston 1981 found that children behave differently depending on which parent the are with
Evaluation of the Strange Situation (proximity seeking) (-)
- the validity of some measure has been questioned
- e.g. it could be argued that proximity seeking is a measure if Insecurity rather than security
Evaluation of the Strange Situation (ecological validity (-)
- the Strange Situation lacks ecological validity
- therefore it may not be a reflection of an infants attachment style in the real world
- studies have found that babies’ attachment styles are stronger in laboratory settings than they are in their home environment
Evaluation of the Strange Situation (cultural bias) (-)
- developed in the US and may be culturally biased
- attachment behaviours that are seen as healthy in the US may not be seen as healthy in other cultures
- in Germany less than 1 in 5 mothers worked, but children were encouraged to be self-reliant
- behaviours such as crying are seen as being securely attached in the US but may just be seen as spoilt in Germany, and this behaviour is not rewarded
- this is why these children may have shown less anxiety when separated from their mothers and been classes as avoidant
Evaluation of the Strange Situation (+) (replicable)
+ has been replicated many times over the years
+ has a high level of control and standardised procedures, making it easy to replicate
+ has been carried out successfully in many different cultures
