attatchment-booklet 3 Flashcards
what was the aim of Ainsworth and Bell strange situation
to measure the attachment type by observing how 12-18 month children respond to there parents after being left with a stranger
what was the procedure of Ainsworths strange situation
-the particpents were 100 middle-class american babies and there mothers in a controlled observation
observers recorded the behabiour through a two-way mirror during a set of 8 predetermined stages/episodes
-these stages involved the mother leaving the child for a short while so they could play with available toys in the presence of a stranger and alone and the mother returing to the child
which behaviours were recorded
-if the child was willing to explore (exploration behaviour)
-if they showed stranger anxiety
-separation anxiety
-what behaviour they demonstrated on reunion (reunion behaviour)
how often was behaviour scored
behaviour was recorded every 15s scoring the intensity from 1-7
what were the findings of the experiment
that there were 3 attatchment types
-securely attatched-66%
-insecure avoidant-22%
-insecure resistant-12%
describe insecure avoidant children
type A
dont orient there behaviour towards there caregiver
may display little distress on separation
may avoid contact on reunion
they treat stranger and mother the same way
describe securely attached children
type B
they feel content to explore a stranger environment using there caregiver as a safe base
they show some distress when left by their caregiver #
easily comforted and show joy on reunion
they are wary of strangers and treat them differently to there caregiver
describe insecure resistant children
type C
children are clingier
they explore less
they are wary and anxious of strangers
highly distressed on separtion
may show conflciting behaviour on reunion seeking or resisting caregiver-perhaps showing signs of anger
what is the link called between the child attatchment type and mothers behaviour called
caregiver sensitivity hypothesis
what would lead to a child becoming securely attached
caregivers who were sensitive and consistent in the way they responded to the child needs
what would lead to a child becoming insecure avoidant
caregivers who were unresponsive sometimes cold and rejecting. The child believes that communication of needs has no influence on the caregiver
what would lead to a child becoming insecure resistant
caregivers who were inconsistent in the way in which they responded to there child
what are some other conclusions that have been drawn from Ainsworth strange situation
-there are significant individual differences between infants in there attachment types
-most americans are securely attached
-there is a distinct association between mothers behaviour and infants attachment type
how is SSP reliable
used a standardised procedure eg-set of 8 predetermined episodes and behaviour was recorded every 15s this means it easily replicated and therefore reliablity can be assessed
how good is the SSP inter-observer reliability
it has high inter-observer reliability. Bick found it to be as high as 94% this means we can be confident that the attachment type of the infant observed by SSP is not dependant on who is observing them
how has the SSP been applied to real life
cooper teachers caregivers to recongise their infant signals of distress which led to better infant-caregiver relations
this project led to an increase in the number of infants classifed as securelu attached
how is the SSP valid
it uses a variety of measures to assess attachment by assessing the infants behaviour through 4 different criteria eg-stranger/separation, reunion, exploration this gives better indications of the childs attachment type and therefore more valid data
how is the SSP not valid
children who are used to being left in day care may not be affected by there parents leaving the room they may appear as insecure-avoidant-type A-little distress on separation. This shows SSP may be measuring how familiar the children are with being left alone this questions the validity of SSP
how else is SSP not valid in term of culture
-it was used for American children in the USA it assumes behaviours children display are the same across all cultures-ethnocentric
how does SSP work on Japanese mothers
Takahashi found that SSP does not work on Japanese children as children are rarely separated from parents so there are high levels of stranger/separation anxiety. Japanese mothers tended to scoop their children on reunion so behaviour was difficult to observe. This shows a different method may need to be used due to differences in child rearing practices
what is the difference in infants attachment type in lab vs at home
Brofenbrenner found infants attachment type is stronger in the lab
mothers may show demand characteristics may confuse infant resulting in incorrect attachment being identified
lack ecological validity- high controlled so cant generalise to other settings
how may have some infants been misclarified
Main and solomon identified another group of children type d-disorganised. These infants showed inconsistent behaviour eg-confusion
links have been made with this attachment type and abuse/neglect
shows SSP lacks validty of type D wasnt used
what are some ethical issues associated with SSP and how was this overcome
deliberately causes the child distress however its similar to everyday stress the child experiences for short periods of time so its seen as justifiable
what is some alternative explanations for SSP
kagan argued temprement hypothesis infants inherit a particular temprement which determines quality of future relationships
suggest nature (innate) more than nurture (environment)
who wanted to find out if there were simillarities and differences between different attachment types in different cultures
Van ijzendoorn and kroonenberg
what was the procedure of Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg study
they carried out a meta-analysis of 32 other studies of the strange situation from a variety of different countries based on the observation of 1990 children
how was van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg study controlled
-selected studies that all used the strange situation to measure attachment
-used studies that only observed mother-infant interacations
-excluded any studies using children over 2
numbers showing secure attachment was the most common attachment type
UK-75%
Japan-68%
what was the 2nd most common attachment type in collectivist cultures
insecure-resistant
avergae-27%
what was the 2nd most common attachment type for individualistic cultures
insecure-avoidant
average-26%
what did cultural variation find out about Japan
Takahashi used SS to study 60 Japanese infants and their mothers. They found similar rates of secure attachment as Ainsworth and found high rates of insecure-resistant (32%)
the Japanese children were particularly stressed at being alone the extent to which the study had to be stopped for 90% of them. This may be because the japanese encourages a dependant relationship between mother and infant
what did cultural variation find out about Germany
Grossman and Grossman found that the most common attachment type in Germany was insecure-avoidant rather than securely attached
this is likely due to the differences in child rearing practices as German culture involves keeping distance between parents and children so parents deliberately teach their kids to be independent thus children don’t engage in proximity promoting behaviours thus appear insecurely-attached
what was a Korean study that assessed cultural variation
Mi Kyoung Jin-asses 87 Korean babies using the SS. Compared to other countries the overall proportion of secure and insecure babies was the same. However the number insecure-resistant babies was similar to japan perhaps because the child rearing practice was similar to Japan
what is a conclusion to draw from the study
-since secure attachment is dominant across all cultures. This suggest attachment is innate as Bowlby suggested However because there was differences between cultures it suggests that nurture also takes a part attachment
what is some conclusions to show cultural variation takes a part in attachment
individualistic cultures have a higher level of insecure-avoidant attachment-as they support independance eg-Germany
collectivist cultures have a higher level of insecure-resistant attachments
what is a strength of having a meta-analysis
high population validity as sample size is much greater meaning it can be generalised to a large number of people and individual differences ae likely to be reduced enhancing the validity of the findings
what is a negative of having a meta-analysis
its secondary data the original researchers may have made some error which will affect the validity of the final meta-analysis findings
why is comparing countries a criticism
they may have been comparing countries rather than cultures. There may be sub-cultures within each country. Interestingly the researchers noted that variation within each countries was greater than between countries
what are some ethical issues associated with the SS
may cause psychological harm as children in other cultures may not be used to being left alone so may cause higher levels of distress and more psychological harm
how is the method not show cultural relativism
it may be that this method lack cultural relativism so SS should only be used in cultures with the same caregiving values as them using it to classify children in other cultures could be an example of imposed etic a consequence of this is that one culture could be made to look inferior to another
what could explain why children were less anxious in the separation stage in germany
independance is viewed more highly so this could explain why children were less anxious. being securelt attached is viewed as spoilt and clingy
how do Japanease mothers cary their children
Japanease mother typically carry their children close so the separation stage would be something the infants are ver unfamiliar with. Its ethnocentric to assume the best type of attachment is secure
