L3 - Types of attachment

Question 1

What was The Strange Situation?

Answer 1

• methodology used by Ainsworth et al (1970) to investigate the differences in attachments between infants + their caregivers
• controlled observation - took place in a room furnished with toys

Investigators observed the infants in series of three-minute episodes
- mother + baby
- stranger enters
- mother leaves
- mother returns

• recorded an infant’s proximity seeking, stranger anxiety, separation protest, reunion joy

Question 2

What was the Type A insecure-avoidant attachment style?

Answer 2

• 20% classified as Type A insecure avoidant
• babies with this attachment style would largely ignore their caregiver + play independently while they explore the room
• show no signs of distress when caregiver absent (seperation protest) + continued to ignore when they return (no reunion joy)
• baby distressed when left completely alone but is comforted by stranger as easily as caregiver (no stranger anxiety) - caregiver + stranger treated in the same way

Question 3

What was the Type B secure- attachment style?

Answer 3

• 70%
• securely attached babies play happily while caregiver present + use them as a safe base while they explore the room + play with toys
• baby clearly distressed when caregiver leaves (separation protest), even if not completely left alone - seeks immediate contact with their caregiver when they return (reunion joy) - caregiver easily comforts them
• baby wary of stranger (stranger anxiety) but accepts some comfort from them when the caregiver is absent

Question 4

What was the Type C insecure- resistant attachment style?

Answer 4

• 10%
• fussy/ cry more than other babies - will not explore room or play with the toys very much - instead very clingy
• baby distressed when caregiver leaves (extreme separation protest) - resist comfort from the caregiver on reunion (no reunion joy)
• strongly resist stranger’s attempts to make contact (extreme stranger anxiety)

Question 5

What are the strengths of The Strange Situation?

Answer 5

• Has been replicated many times over the years. It is easy to replicate this study because it is highly controlled + has standardised procedures - has been carried out successfully in many different cultures

Question 6

What are the weaknesses of The Strange Situation?

Answer 6

• methodology developed in US + so may be culturally biased. Attachment behaviour that is seen as healthy in the US may not be seen as such in all cultures. In Germany at this time very few mothers worked (less than 1 in 5) but children encouraged to be independent + self-reliant. German parents view some of the behaviour of securely attached infants, such as crying when their mothers leave the room, as being spoilt and thus do not reward this behaviour - these children may have shown less anxiety when seperated from their mothers + can be classed as avoidant
• validity of some measures can be questioned - could be argued that proximity seeking could be a measure of insecurity rather than security
• gender bias - only had mothers as caregiver. Children may be insecurely attached to their mothers but securely attached to their fathers. The strange situation is therefore not measuring a child’s overall attachment style but their attachment to one individual. Main + Weston found that children behave differently depending on which parent they are with
• lacks ecological validity - strange situation being artificial is that it may not reflect the infant’s real world behaviour. Studies found that baies attachment behvaiour much stronger in lab setting than in home env