Role of the Father and Ainsworth strange situation Flashcards
What are examples of research to suggest fathers are not important as attachment figures
- Bowlby stated the monotropy had to be a female. He also said ‘Fathers should provide an economic rather than emotional bond’
- Shaffer and Emerson. In stage 3 (specific attachment)
. 65% of children the first specific attachment was the mother
. Only 3% of fathers were attached too - Biological factors - Hormones
. Oestrogen = associated with caring behaviour
. Oxytocin = ‘bonding hormone’ released during childbirth and breastfeeding (associated with emotional connection)
What are the examples of research to suggest that fathers are important as attachment figures
- Shaffer and Emerson - During stage 4 (multiple attachment)
. 75% of children form an attachment with the father by 18 months
. Fathers who show sensitivity to the infant are more likely to develop secure attachments - Father as play mate - Many psychologists have said fathers serve a different purpose as the playmate
. Lamb (1987) - when children are happy they prefer the attachment with there dad when they want to play. But when children are upset/ill they prefer their mums attachment to care for them
What changed social norms link to the role of the father and what do they show
- Rise in feminism - Feminisation of the economy
- Increased opportunities for women (more women in paid work and education) - less women at home
- Changing role of men (Decline in traditional labour industry) - more men taking on roles in the home
- Changes in laws/ polices re maternity/paternity pay - split more equally
- Many children in Nursery provisions as both parents work2
What is the conclusion of the role of the father
Bowlby and Shaffer + Emerson are outdated
the role of the father is important but only secondary
What did Ainsworth come up with and what was Ainsworth’s aim
Ainsworth came up with the 3 types of attachment
Aim : To be able to observe key attachment behaviour as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment type
What was Ainsworth’s procedure
The strange situation is a controlled observation. Designed to measure the security of attachment a child with display towards their care giver.
It takes place in a controlled setting
(e.g. Laboratory) with a 2 way mirror and video footage through which psychologists can examine behaviour.
The procedure consisted of 8 episodes lasting 3 minutes each designed to highlight a certain behaviour in secure infants such as - secure base behaviour
- Proximity seeking
- Stranger and separation anxiety
What was Ainsworth’s sample like
White middle class American babies and their mothers
How is the Data from Ainsworth’s study collected
Collected by a group of observers (to test inter-observer reliability) they record what the infant is doing every 15 seconds (Time sample) using behavioural categories .
What were the 8 episodes in Ainsworth’s study and what were they testing for
1- Parent and infant play in an unfamiliar setting (test for nothing)
2 - Parent sits while the infant plays (Use of parent as secure base)
3 - A stranger enters and talks to parent (stranger anxiety)
4- Parent leaves, Infant is alone with stranger, Stranger offers comfort if needed (separation anxiety)
5 - Parent renters the room and greets infant and offers comfort if needed, Stranger leaves (Reunion behaviour)
6 - The parent leaves the infant alone (separation anxiety)
7 - The Stranger enters and offer comfort (stranger anxiety)
8 - The parent renters, greets the infant and offers comfort (reunion behaviour)
What are Ainsworth’s types of Attachment
- Secure (type B)
- Unsecure avoidant (Type A)
- Unsecure resistant (Type C)
What happens in secure attachment when:
- Mother is present (secure base)
- Mother leaves (separation anxiety)
- Stranger enters (Stranger anxiety)
- Mother returns (Reunion behaviour)
And how many infants are secure
- Mother is present (secure base) = Mum was used as safe base
- Mother leaves (separation anxiety) = Moderate distress
- Stranger enters (stranger anxiety) = Moderate distress
- Mother returns (reunion behaviour) = Infant is enthusiastic to accept comfort
66% of infants were secure
What happens in Unsecure avoidant attachment when
- Mother is present (secure base)
- Mother leaves (separation anxiety)
- Stranger enters (Stranger anxiety)
- Mother returns (Reunion behaviour)
And how many infants are unsecure avoidant
- Mother is present (secure base) = Doesn’t seek proximity
- Mother leaves (separation anxiety) = Low stress
- Stranger enters (Stranger anxiety) = Low stress
- Mother returns (Reunion behaviour) = ‘indifferent’ so do not need/seek comfort]
22% of infants were unsecure avoidant
What happens in Unsecure resistant when
- Mother is present (secure base)
- Mother leaves (separation anxiety)
- Stranger enters (Stranger anxiety)
- Mother returns (Reunion behaviour)
And how many infants are unsecure resistant
- Mother is present (secure base) = infant seeks high proximity e.g. no exploration of surroundings
- Mother leaves (Separation anxiety) = High separation anxiety
- Stranger enters (Stranger anxiety) = High stranger anxiety
- Mother returns (reunion behaviour) = seeks comfort then resists
(resentful they have been left)
12% of infants were shown to be unsecure resistant
What could you use to evaluate Ainsworth’s strange situation
- High reliability
- The test may be culture bound
- Validity
How would you evaluate Ainsworth’s strange situation
(High reliability)
- Clear standardised procedure - controlled observation in the same lab, 8 episodes for 3 minutes - All babies went through the same procedure
- Coding system and trained observers to measure inter-observer reliability - Bick found inter-observer reliability was +0.94
- High reliability , consistent results and very high levels of agreement between observers
How would you evaluate Ainsworth’s strange situation
(The test may be culture bound)
- The test was created in Britain and America and was conducted on American babies - America has an individualist culture therefore may change the way the babies react to separation etc
- Takahashi conducted the study in Japan and the babies displayed huge levels of distress upon separation with the mother to the point the study had to stop because it was no longer ethical to continue. A majority of the babies were classes as unsecure resistant
- Takahashi suggests the anxiety was not due to levels of attachment but the high unusualness of the nature in Japan where mother-baby separation is very rare
- Cannot be generalised across the world
How would you evaluate Ainsworth’s strange situation
(Validity)
- The strange situation may not measure the quality of attachment but instead the child’s personality e.g. introverts and extroverts as extroverts will be more willing to explore. Kagan suggested factors such as hunger a tiredness can also play a role
- External validity is low as the study is based in a controlled setting (a lab) which is an unnatural environment for the baby as the presence of researchers and strangers isn’t normal at home or in nursery’s meaning it cannot be generalised
- However research shows it has good predictive validity as a large body of research suggests secure babies tend to have better life out comes such as academic success in school and better mental health as adults than insecure avoidant/resistant babies. This suggests the strange situation measures something real and meaningful in a babies development.
