Chapter 3.7 - Types of attachment

Question 1

What was the strange situation?

Answer 1

A controlled observation designed to test attachment security

Question 2

What is secure attachment?

Answer 2

Shown by moderate stranger and separation anxiety and ease of comfort at reunion

Question 3

What is insecure-avoidant attachment?

Answer 3

An attachment type characterised by low anxiety and weak attachment
- Shown by low stranger anxiety and separation anxiety and little to avoidant reunion with the caregiver

Question 4

What is insecure-resistant attachment?

Answer 4

An attachment type characterised by strong attachment and high anxiety
- Shown by high levels of stranger and separation anxiety and resistance of comfort at reunion

Question 5

Describe the research on types of attachment

Answer 5

Mary Ainsworth (1970)
- Controlled observation: two-way mirror and/or cameras
- Babies are assessed on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver
- Seven episodes lasting three minutes each

Question 6

What were the five behaviours used to judge attachment?

Answer 6

1. Proximity seeking
2. Secure-base behaviour
3. Stranger anxiety
4. Separation anxiety
5. Response to reunion

Question 7

What were the findings on secure attachment?

Answer 7

• Moderate separation and stranger anxiety
• Accepts comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage
• 60-75% of British babies are classified as secure

Question 8

What were the findings on insecure-avoidant attachment?

Answer 8

• Little to no separation and stranger anxiety
• Avoid comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage
• 20-25% British babies are classified as insecure-avoidant

Question 9

What were the findings on insecure-resistant attachment?

Answer 9

• High separation and stranger anxiety
• Resist comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage
• 3% of British babies are classified as insecure-resistant

Question 10

What is a strength of the strange situation? (good predictive validity)

Answer 10

• Those assessed as secure tend to have better outcomes than others, both in later childhood and adulthood
• Childhood: better achievement in school and less involvement in bullying
• Adulthood: better mental health
• Measures something real and meaningful in a baby’s development

Question 11

What is a counterpoint of the Strange situation?

Answer 11

• Not all development is associated with attachment
• Genetically influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour
• May not actually measure attachment

Question 12

What is a strength of the strange situation? (good reliability)

Answer 12

• Inter-rater reliability was tested and found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
• May be because of controlled conditions and observed behaviours, proximity seeking and stranger anxiety, involve large movements and are easy to observe
• Attachment type assessed by the strange situation does not depend on subjective judgements

Question 13

What is a limitation of the strange situation? (culture-bound)

Answer 13

• It was developed in Britain and the US
• Babies have different experiences in different cultures and may affect their responses to the strange situation

Japanese study (1986):
- Babies displayed high levels of separation anxiety and so a disproportionate number were insecure-resistant
- Anxiety was not due to high rates of attachment insecurity but rather the unnatural experience of mother-baby separation which is very rare

• Difficult to know what the strange situation is measuring when used outside Europe and the US

Question 14

What is another evaluation point of the strange situation? (disorganized attachment style)

Answer 14

• A fourth category was identified: the disorganised attachment style, a mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours
• HOWEVER, these babies are unusual and have generally experienced some form of severe neglect or abuse
• Most will go on to develop psychological disorders by adulthood