Attachment Styles

Question 1

Explain the behaviour of a child with a Secure attachment style?

Answer 1

• Safe base behaviour
• Willing to explore
• Happy reunion behaviour
• Stranger anxiety/separation anxiety

sensitive relationship with caregiver

Question 2

Explain the behaviour of a child with a insecure avoidant attachment style?

Answer 2

• No safe base behaviour
• Happy to explore
• Indifferent reunion behaviour
• Low separation/stranger anxiety

indifferent relationship with caregiver

Question 3

Explain the behaviour of a child with a insecure resistant attachment style?

Answer 3

• No safe base behaviour
• Unwilling to explore
• Angry reunion behaviour
• High separation/stranger anxiety

variable relationship with caregiver

Question 4

Explain Mary Ainsworth’s strange situation?

Answer 4

• This was an overt, non-participant, controlled observation of babies between 9-18 months old in 8 different scripted episodes

Question 5

Describe what Ainsowrth was investigating with the strange sistuation?

Answer 5

• Levels of stranger/seperation anxiety
• safe base behaviour
• reunion behaviour

Question 6

Use % to show Ainsworth’s results

Answer 6

70% secure
15% insecure avoidant
15% insecure resistant

Question 7

How did sensitive responsiveness affect attachment style?

Answer 7

Mothers who were sensitive to their kids - Secure
Mothers who were indifferent - Avoidant
Mothers who were inconsistent - Resistant

Question 8

What cultural variations exist that might affect attachment styles?

Answer 8

Cultures are:
- individualistic - Independence, uniquenss and self reliance
- or collectivist - family, support, teamwork

Question 9

How did Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg investigate cultural variations of the strange situation?

Answer 9

• Meta analysis
• Across 8 countries
• In 32 studies

Question 10

What did Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg find about cultural variations of the strange situation?

Answer 10

• Replicated Ainsworth’s findings of attachment styles
• Percentages varied across cultures, and within them

Question 11

How did cultural variations affect the results of the strange situation across the world?

Answer 11

65% secure
21% avoidant
14% resistant

Question 12

How did cultural variations between individualistic vs collectivist cultures affect the results of the strange situation ?

Answer 12

• Individualistic (UK + Germany)
  High levels of avoidance
• Collectivist (Israel + China)
  High levels of resistance

Question 13

How did cultural variations within a culture affect the results of the strange situation?

Answer 13

• Within a culture there was variation of attachment styles,
• suggesting that there are other factors apart from culture
• eg;-poverty and education of caregivers

Question 14

What are the strengths of research for attachment styles?

Answer 14

1) Method is standardized and EVs are controlled
2) Replicable
3) Results have been replicated across cultures
4) Temporal validity; Mary Main found that the attachment style still remained of 1 yr olds in the study, at 6 yrs old

eg Ijzendoorn + Kroonenberg

Question 15

What are the limitations of research for attachment styles?

Answer 15

• Culturally biased
  Behavioural categories are determined by western standards so behaviours of other cultures are misinterpreted
• Low population validity
  Sample was white american families and even the meta-analysis only involved 8 countries
• Lacks ecological validity
  Artificial environment may distress kids making them more anxious

Question 16

Explain the continuity hypothesis?

Answer 16

The IWM affects our future relationships