Types Of Attachment Flashcards
What was the method of the study ainsworth’s study the strange situation
A controlled observation of 12 - 18 month old infants left in a room with their mother eight different scenarios occurred.
A group of observers recorded the behaviour the infant was doing every 15 seconds
What were the results of Ainsworth’s study
- 15% of infants insure avoidant (not minding being left alone or if stranger comforted them)
- 70% were securely attached (content with their mother, upset when she left and happy when she returned. They avoided a stranger)
- 15% were insecure resistant ( they were uneasy around their mother and upset if she left. They resisted stanger and where hard to comfort when mother returned)
What is the conclusion of Ainsworth’s study
Infants showing different reactions to their carers have different types of attachment
What is a positive evaluation of Ainswoth’s study
Research methods used allowed control of the variables making the results reliable.
What is some negative evaluation of Ainsworth’s study
The laboratory type situation made the study artificial, this reduced the ecological validity.
Parents may have changed their behaviour reducing the ecological validity.
New situation may have had an effect on child’s behaviour which may not represent their behaviour in real life
Mother may not have been child’s main attachment figure
What where the five actives being examined in Ainsworths study
• Proximity Seeking – An infant with good attachment will stay close to the caregiver
• Exploration and Secure Base Behaviour – Good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore.
• Stranger Anxiety – a sign of attachment is to show anxiety when a stranger approaches
• Separation Anxiety – a sign of attachment is to protest at separation from caregiver
• Response to Reunion – how the child reacts upon being reunited with caregiver.
What are the three types of attachment
Secure attachment, insecure - avoidant attachment, insecure resistant attachment
What is a secure attachment
most desirable attachment type, associated with psychologically healthy outcomes. In the strange situation, this is shown by moderate stranger and separation anxiety and ease of comfort at reunion.
What is insecure avoidant attachment
low anxiety but weak attachment. In the strange situation this is shown by low stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion- avoidance of caregiver.
Insecure resistant attachment
strong attachment and high anxiety. In the strange situation this is shown by high levels of stranger and separation anxiety and by resistance to be comforted at reunion.
What is some positive emulation for their being different types of attachment ( further relationships)
• Attachment type is strongly predictive of later development
• Babies assessed as secure tend to have better outcomes- for example:
- Success at school
- Success in romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood
Insecure-resistant is associated with the worst outcomes including bullying in later childhood (Kokkinos, 2007) and adult mental health (Ward et al. 2006)
What is ethnocentrism
the tendency to believe that one’s ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one’s own.
What is some negative evaluation for the different types of attachment (diversity)
- test does not really work in Japan because Japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their babies that, we would expect, there are very high levels of separation anxiety.
- reunion stage, Japanese mothers rushed to the baby and scooped them up, meaning the child’s response was hard to observe.
What is some negative evaluation for the different types of attachment
suggested that temperament, the genetically influenced personality of the child, is the most important influence on behaviour in this situation.
pointed out that a minority of children display atypical attachments that do not fall within types A, B or C behaviour.
