Types of Attachment

Question 1

Ainsworth (1978) strange situation

Answer 1

Controlled observation with 7 stages of 3 minutes testing proximity-seeking, exploration and secure-base behaviour, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, response to reunion

Question 2

Secure attachment

Answer 2

Explore happily but regularly return to caregiver, show moderate separation and stranger anxiety, accept comfort at reunion (60-75%)

Question 3

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 3

Explore freely but don’t seek proximity, show little separation and stranger anxiety, avoid contact at reunion (20-25%)

Question 4

Insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 4

Explore less as seek greater proximity, show high separation and stranger anxiety, resist contact at reunion (3%)

Question 5

Strengths of types of attachment

Answer 5

• Good predictive validity (eg. Secure babies tend to have better outcomes in childhood and adulthood)
• Standardised procedure (eg. Bick found high inter-observer reliability / agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases)

Question 6

Limitations of types of attachment

Answer 6

• Culture bias (eg. In Japanese study babies displayed very high separation anxiety and so a disproportionate number classified as insecure-resistant)
• Other attachment types (eg. Main & Soloman identified insecure-disorganised)