attachment- types of attachment

Question 1

strange situation
strength- good predictive validity (4)

Answer 1

-its outcome predicts aspects of later development
-secure babies= better outcomes eg. success at school, better mental health
-insecure-resistant= worse outcomes eg. getting bullied
-type of attachment can determine future aspects so study can explain subsequent outcomes

Question 2

strange situation
strength- good inter-observer reliability (3)

Answer 2

-94% agreement
-reliable methodology: different observers watching same children with same behavioural categories in controlled conditions- allows them to identify same attachment type
-confidence that observations arent subjective

Question 3

strange situation
limitation- culture bound study (2 + 3 points in a study)

Answer 3

-sample restricted to middle class white american mothers+babies- sample lacks population validity
-unrepresentative of other races/countries- cant generalise findings

Japanese study
-babies had high separation anxiety- classed as insecure resistant according to SS
-but, babies are rarely separated from mothers so separation anxiety isnt due to insecure behaviour
-study= imposed etic, america= individualistic

Question 4

cultural variations
strength- large sample size (3)

Answer 4

-increased internal validity- reduces impact of anomalous results
-confidence in measuring what we’re supposed to so results are trusted
-high population validity- generalisable

Question 5

cultural variations
limitation- imposed etic (3)

Answer 5

-test designed for 1 culture+imposed to others
-lack of separation anxiety= different in other cultures. America=insecure avoidant. Germany= seen as independence not avoidance
-behaviours measured by SS doesnt have same meanings in different cultural contexts so comparing them across cultures is meaningless

Question 6

cultural variations
limitation- confounding variables (4)

Answer 6

-studies in different countries arent matched for methodology when meta-analysed
-confounding variables: poverty, social class
-environmental variables can differ between studies. Size of room, availability of toys- babies more likely to explore in small room with lots of toys. Less proximity seeking due to room size makes child seem avoidant
-behaviour in non-matched studies in different countries doesnt tell us anything about cross cultural variations

Question 7

cultural variations
limitation- strange situation used which may be invalid (3)

Answer 7

-SS may not measure attqachment- attachment type is more related to temperament eg. personality of child
-so studies arent measuring cultural variations, theyre measuring temperament
-limited usefulness