Section 3 : Attachment - Types of Attachment Flashcards
Attachments can be….
- secure
- insecure
What is a secure attachment
- a strong bond between the child and caregiver
In a secure attachment, what happens if the child is separated from the caregiver and then reunited
- At separation the infant becomes distressed
- when reunited the child is easily comforted by the caregiver
The majority of attachments are what type
Secure
Secure attachments are associated with what
A healthy cognitive and emotional development
What are insecure attachments
- the bond between child and caregiver is weaker
- ainsworth et al came up with two types of insecure attachment:
- Insecure avoidant
- Insecure resistant
What is an insecure avoidant attachment
- if they’re separated from their caregiver, the child doesn’t become particularly distressed
- the child can be comforted usually by a stranger
What type of person would usually show an insecure avoidant attachment
Shown by children who generally avoid social interaction and intimacy with others
What is an insecure-resistant attachment
- child is often uneasy around their caregiver
- becomes upset if they’re separated
- comfort can’t be given by strangers and is also resisted from the caregiver
What type of person would show an insecure resistant attachment
Children who show this attachment both accept and reject social interaction and intimacy
Who came up with the strange situation
Ainsworth
What did ainsworth use the strange situation for
To assess how children would react under conditions of stress and also to new situations
What was the method used in Ainsworth et al 1978 - the strange situation
- controlled observation
- 12-18 month old infants left in a room with their mother
- eight different scenarios including:
- being approached by a stranger, being left alone, and mother returning
- infants reactions were constantly observed
What was the results of Ainsworth et al 1978
- 15% of infants were insecure avoidant - they ignored their mother and didn’t mind when she left
- about 70% we’re securely attached - content with the mother then upset when left and happy after reunited
- 15% were insecure resistant - they were content with their mother and upset when left, they resisted the strangers and were also hard to comfort when their mother arrived
What was the conclusion of ainsworth et al
Infants showing different reactions to their carers have different types of attachment
What are the evaluations of Ainsworth et al 1978
- research method used allowed control of the variables (reliable results)
- lab situation made study artificial (reduces ecological validity)
- parents may have changed behaviour due to being observed (may effect child’s behaviour)
- new situation in the experiment may have effected child’s behaviour (not representative of child’s behaviour in real life)
- mother may not have been the child’s main attachment figure
What cross cultural study to Ainsworth et al has taken place
Van Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988
What was the method used in Van Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988
- Van Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg carried out a meta analysis of 32 studies of the strange situation in different countries, which were then analysed to find overall patterns
What were the results of Van Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988
- children classified as secure or insecure were similar across the countries tested
- more differences within the actual countries than between them
- secure attachment were the most common type of attachment
- some difference in the distribution of insecure attachments
- dominant type of insecure attachment was avoidant in western cultures (most coming from Germany)
- dominant type of insecure attachement in non western cultures were resistant (most coming from Japan)
What are the conclusions of Van Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988
There are cross cultural similarities in raising children with common reactions to the strange situation
What are the evaluations of Van Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988
- children brought up in different ways in different cultures
- might result in different types of attachment in different cultures
- strange situation might not be suitable method for studying cross-cultural attachment
- using a different type of study may have revealed different patterns or types of attachment in different culture
- study assumes that different countries are the same thing as different cultures
- one problem with the research method is that meta analysis can hide individual results that show an unusual trend
What did Grossman et al claim
- some cultural differences are found
- claimed more avoidant infants may be found in Germany because of the value Germans put in independence - avoidance is seen as good
What are said about the causes of attachment types
The causes may be the sensitivity of their careers and/or their inborn temperament so the causes for attachment type are debatable
What does the strange situation experiment not show
- Doesn’t show a characteristic of the child
- experiment only shows the child’s relationship with a specific person so they might react differently with different carers or later in life
Attachment type may late influence what
- attachment you may influence later behaviours
- securely attached children may be more confident in school and form strong, trusting adult relationships
- avoidant children may have behaviour problems in school and find it hard to dorm close trusting adult relationships
- resistant children may be insecure and attention seeking in school as asukts their strong feelings of dependant may be stressful for partners
