the strange situation Mary Ainsworth Flashcards
what was the aim of Ainsworth (1978) study
observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a Childs attachment to caregiver
what is reunion behaviour
behaviour observed with caregiver after separation for a short period of time from caregiver
what is proximity seeking
an infant with good attachment will stay fairly close to caregiver
what is secure base behaviour?
good attachment enables the child to feel confident to explore using the caregiver as a secure base
describe the strange situation procedure (1969)
- parent and infant play
- parent sits as infant plays - secure base
- stranger then enters room - stranger anxiety
- parent then leaves room
- parent returns and greets infant whilst stranger leaves - reunion behaviour
- parent leaves infant now alone - separation anxiety
- stranger re-enters room offering comfort - stranger anxiety
- parent returns - reunion behaviour
what are the three types of attachment identified from the strange situation results
secure type B (66%)
insecure avoidant type A (22%)
insecure resistant type C (12%)
describe secure base of secure type B
happily explores but regularly goes back to caregiver
describe stranger and separation anxiety of secure type B
shows both moderate levels of separation and stranger anxiety and become distressed. seek close contact from caregiver when separated
describe reunion behaviour of secure type B
requires and accepts comfort from caregiver
describe secure base of insecure avoidant type A
explore freely but don’t seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
describe stranger and separation anxiety of insecure avoidant type A
little or no reaction when separated from caregiver and when stranger enters
describe reunion behaviour of insecure avoidant type A
makes little effort to make contact when caregiver returns doesn’t require comfort
describe secure base of insecure avoidant type C
seek greater proximity than others so explore less. they both seek and resist intimacy and social interactions
describe stranger and separation anxiety of insecure avoidant type C
high levels of distress when separated from caregiver and when stranger enters
describe reunion behaviour of insecure avoidant type C
resist comfort when reunited with caregiver may display conflicting desires for and against comfort
how does the strange situation study have good reliability (evaluation strength)
shows very good inter-rater reliability as different observers watching the same child generally agree on what attachment to class them as. this may be because of the controlled conditions the study is done under and the behavioural categories are easy to observe.
how does the strange situation study raise ethical questions? (evaluation weakness)
the study has been labelled as unethical as it deliberately stresses infants to see their reaction, however this can be seen as justifiable as the stress caused is no greater than everyday life.
evaluate how the strange situation study may be culture bound (evaluation weakness)
there is some doubt about whether the strange situation is a culture bound test i.e it doesn’t have the same meaning in counties outside the west. this is because cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that a Child responds differently to the strange situation
what is meta-analysis
process in which the data from a large number of studies which have involved the same research methods are combined
what is a strength of meta analysis
allows us to view data with much more confidence and can generalise across much larger populations increasing validity
what is a weakness of meta analysis
research designs are not always the same making the studies not truly comparable
describe the van ijzendoorn and kroonenberg study (1988)
carried out meta analysis to look at the proportions of types of attachment across many countries
they where interested to see whether there would be differences between different countries (inter-cultural)
and also differences within cultures (intra-cultural)
what where the findings of ijzendoorn and kroomenberg (1988) study
after the meta analysis they found an average of 65% secure type B
21% insecure avoidant type A
14% insecure resistant type C
what is a strength of ijzendoorn and kroomenberg study (1988) ethics
the use of meta analysis is ethically sound as because there is no new data collected and its all secondary data no new infants need to go through the potentially dramatic experience of the strange situation
how may the ijzendoorn and kroomenberg study (1988) may not be truly representative
in some countries ijzendoorn only looked at a small number of studies e.g one in china but 18 in America meaning the results for these countries may not be representative and may not generalise to the country at large.
what is deprivation?
(bowlby theory of maternal deprivation)
to be deprived is to lose something in context to child development deprivation refers to the loss of emotional care that is normally provided by primary caregiver
what did bowlby think the long term consequences of deprivation where
emotional maladjustment or even mental health issues like depression
describe bowlby’s study on effects of prolonged separation on emotional development (1944)
selected opportunity sample of 88 children attending guidance clinic
split into two groups
group 1; 44 teens in theft group who had stole - 14 of which where affection less (psychopaths) lack responsibility
group 2; 44 teens who had emotional problems both groups where matched for age and IQ
the kids and their parents where then interviewed
what where the findings of bowlbys study on effects of separation (1944)
in the thief group 12 pps had experienced prolonged separation of 6 months plus from their mother in first two years of life
describe the real world application of the maternal deprivation theory bowlby (evaluation strength)
the study had an enormous positive impact on child bearing and also how children where looked after in hospitals as children where separated from family when in hospitals and visitors where forbidden or discouraged. this study led to huge social change
disadvantage of bowlbys 44 thieves study (1944)
bowlby assumed that psychical separation on its own could lead to deprivation others argue it is the psychological separation that must be considered too. so even if a mother is psychically present she needs to be psychologically present for child
describe rutter and barke study on roman orphans
compared romanian orphans who had previously lived in institutions and suffered from the effects of it to British children who where adopted before the age of 2
they then tested regularly for psychical, social and cognitive development
describe the findings of rutter and barke study on roman orphans
at time of adoption the roman children where behind the British in all 3 aspects and cognitively classed as mentally retarded, psychically they where smaller
by age 4 the Romanians who had been adopted by 6 months had caught up to the British but those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment and had difficulty with peer relations
what is disinhibited attachment
the child doesn’t seem to prefer their parents over other people even strangers. the child seeks comfort from virtually anyone
evaluate rutter and burke study (2010) 3 points
privation alone cannot explain negative outcomes as 1/5 of Romanians formed attachments
cannot be certain children didn’t form attachment
researchers unsure of effects in later life
what are the effects of institutionalisation
intellectual under functioning - cognitive development is affected by emotional deprivation
disinhibited attachment - a form of insecure attachment where children don’t discriminate between who they choose as attachment figures like strangers
children from institutions are usually psychically smaller
what is attachment disorder
no preferred attachment figure
inability to interact and relate to others before age of 5
experience of severe neglect
what are the two types of attachment disorder
inhibited
disinhibited
what is inhibited attachment disorder
shy, withdrawn unable to cope with social situations
what is disinhibited attachment disorder
over friendly and attention seeking
evaluate individual differences of the effects of institutionalisation
may be untrue that all children who experience institutionalisation are unable to recover as research shows some children aren’t as strongly affected as others. rutter suggested some children may receive special treatment for smiling more e.g
evaluate how the study of Romanian orphans led to improving the effects of institutionalisation
the study enhanced our understanding of effects on institutionalisation. this led to improvement in the way the children are cared for. now the number of caregivers per child has increased so the child will get more attention and they play a centre role for them this helps avoid disinhibited attachment
how is bowlby’s concept of the internal working model similar to schema
an infant learns about a relationship from experience. the infant learns what relationships are and how partners in a relationship behave towards each other.
describe Hazan and shaver (1987) study - the love quiz
wanted to see if there was a correlation between the infants attachment type and their future approach to romantic relationships
did a love experience questionnaire which assessed the individuals beliefs about romantic love. they posted the questionnaire in newspaper and analysed the first 620 replies sent in
describe the findings of hazen and shaver (1987) study - love quiz
56% of secure attached
25% insecure avoidant
19% insecure resistant
they found a high correlation between infant attachment types and the adult romantic love styles
securely attached where most likely to have good and long lasting romantic relationships
the avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear intimacy
what behaviours are influenced by the internal working model
childhood friendships - connection between early attachment and social skills
poor parenting
romantic relationships - hazan study demonstrated link between early attachment type and later relationships
mental health - disinhibited attachment leads to inability to interact and relate to others that is evident before 5 yrs old
evaluate research on behaviours influenced by IWM as overly deterministic
hazan and shaver (1987) study suggests that early experiences have a fixed effect on later relationships and are practically doomed to experience emotionally unsatisfactory relationships
evaluate how retrospective data may harm research on behaviours influenced by IWM
when adults are asked questions about their early lives in order to asses infant attachment their recollections may be distorted due to our memories changing over time. pps may also show social desirability
