Psychology - Types of attachment and looking at different cultures Flashcards
What’s used to asses type of attachment?
Strange situation
Who came up with the strange situation?
Ainsworth
When was Ainsworth’s research?
1970
Ainsworth
Used strange situation
Identified three broad types of attachments
3 types of attachment
Secure
Insecure- avoidant
Insecure-ambivalent
Method of the strange situation experiment
Mother and infant in room, mother reads magazine, baby left to play with toys
After 3 minutes stranger enters and talks with mother
Stranger approaches and tries to interact with the infant
Mother leaves room so stranger is alone with infant
Stranger offers to comfort baby
After around 3 minutes mother returns and stranger leaves
Mother leaves again and stranger returns just after offering to comfort baby
Mother returns and stranger leaves
Secure attachment in Ainsworth’s strange experiment
Used mother as safe base
Happy to explore room when mother was present
Distress and crying when mother left but easily comforted on return
Wary of stranger and treated them very differently to mother
Insecure-avoidant attachment in Ainsworth’s strange experiment
Did not orient behaviour towards mother in same way
Showed only some stress when mother left
Didn’t seek comfort on mothers return
Rejected strangers attempts at comforting
Insecure-ambivalent attachment in Ainsworth’s strange experiment
Very upset when mother left
Not easily comforted on return - angry and rejected attempts
Alternated between seeking closeness and distance
Insecure-ambivalent attachment percentage in Ainsworth’s strange experiment
15% of infants
Secure attachment percentage in Ainsworth’s strange experiment
70% of inafants
Insecure-avoidant attachment percentage in Ainsworth’s strange experiment
15% of infants
Evaluate strange situation ethical and methodologically (positives)
Easily replicated
Obtain a lot of information in a relatively short period of time
Many studies have found similar results
Mother returned early if infant showed extreme stress
While setting was unfamiliar to child, so would be a baby-sitters house of nursery
Evaluate strange situation ethical and methodologically (negatives)
Lots of stress for children and mothers during experiment
Attachment type results may cause some harm to mothers
Main and Solomon 1986
Added the disorganised attachment type
Who added the disorganised attachment and when?
Main and Solomon
1986
Disorganised attachment type
Behaviour doesn’t fit into any of Ainsworth’s three categories
For example cried first time mother left, but not the second
What did Ainsworth say was the explanation of different types of attachment?
Sensitivity of the mother
Those who could read infants moods and feelings and act accordingly more likely to have securely attached children
When was Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg meta-analysis?
1988
Spell the names of the people who did the all important meta-analysis of 1988
Van Ijzendoorn
Kroonenberg
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
Meta-analysis of 32 studies of strange situation in 8 different countries
Over 2000 infants involved in total (not important)
Countries in Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta-analysis
Great Britain US Sweden Israel West Germany Japan China Netherlands
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg results (secure attachemnts)
Most common in all countries
Lowest proportion was China with 50%
Highest was GB and Sweden around 75%
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg results (insecure-avoidant attachemnts)
More common in West Germany than other Western countries
Very rare in Israel and Japan
