Types Of Attachment

Question 1

What is the type of attachment that we are looking at

Answer 1

Ainsworth ‘Strange Situation’

Question 2

Who was the Strange Situation developed by

Answer 2

Ainsworth and Bell

Question 3

What was the aim of the Strange Situation

Answer 3

Be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a baby’s attachment to a caregiver

Question 4

What was the procedure of the Strange Situation

Answer 4

Took place in a room with controlled conditions, with a 2 way mirror and/or cameras through which psychologists can observe the baby’s behaviour

Question 5

What type of observation procedure was the Strange Situation

Answer 5

A controlled observation procedure

Question 6

What did the Strange Situation procedure measure

Answer 6

The security of attachment a baby displays towards a caregiver

Question 7

What were the behaviours used to judge attachment

Answer 7

.proximity seeking
.exploration and secure base behaviour
.stranger anxiety
.separation anxiety
.response to reunion

Question 8

What is the judgement of proximity seeking

Answer 8

A baby with a good quality caregiver will stay fairly close to them

Question 9

What is the judgement of exploration and secure base behaviour

Answer 9

Good attachment = baby to feel confident to explore knowing that they are safe as they feel secure with the caregiver

Question 10

What is the judgement of stranger anxiety

Answer 10

One of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches

Question 11

What is the judgement of separation anxiety

Answer 11

Sign of becoming attached is to protest when separating from caregiver

Question 12

What is the judgement of response to reunion

Answer 12

Babies who are securely attached greet the caregivers return with pleasure and seeks comfort

Question 13

How many episodes does the procedure have and how long do they last

Answer 13

8 episodes, 3 minutes each

Question 14

What was being tested when ‘mother sits on chair and baby is placed on the floor and is free to explore with the toys’

Answer 14

Exploration

Question 15

What was being tested when a strange enters and sits on the second chair and talks briefly with the mother’

Answer 15

Stranger anxiety

Question 16

What was being tested when ‘the stranger approaches and tries to interact and play with the infant’

Answer 16

Stranger anxiety

Question 17

What was being tested when ‘the mother leaves so the infant and stranger is alone in the room. The stranger comforts if infant is upsets and offers to play with them’

Answer 17

Stranger and separation anxiety

Question 18

What was being tested when ‘the mother returns and the stranger leaves’

Answer 18

Response to reunion

Question 19

What was being tested when ‘the mother leaves again and the baby is left in the room alone’

Answer 19

Separation anxiety

Question 20

What was being tested when ‘the stranger re enters and offers to play and comfort the baby’

Answer 20

Stranger anxiety

Question 21

What was being tested when ‘the mother returns and the stranger leaves’

Answer 21

Response to reunion

Question 22

What 3 types of of attachments were found from this procedure

Answer 22

Secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure resistant

Question 23

What is secure attachment

Answer 23

Explore happily but regularly go back to caregiver, moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety, require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage

Question 24

What is insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 24

Explore freely, don’t seek proximity or show secure base behaviour , shows little to no reaction when caregiver leaves, little stranger anxiety, little effort to make contact when caregiver arrives

Question 25

What is insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 25

They seek greater proximity than others and so they explore less, they show high levels of stranger and separation distress but they resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver

Question 26

What is a strength (with counterpoint) of the Stranger Situation

Answer 26

It’s outcome predicts a number of aspects of the baby’s later development. The research shows that babies and toddlers assessed as ‘secure’ tend to have better outcomes than others, both in child and adulthood. Securely attached babies tend to have a better mental health in adulthood. Insecure-resistant attachment tend to have the worst outcomes

Question 27

What is the counterpoint of the good predictive validity strength

Answer 27

Not all psychologists believe that this something (the something that the strange situation measures) is attachment. This means that the Strange Situation may not actually measure attachment

Question 28

What is a strength (without counterpoint) of Stranger Situation (SS)

Answer 28

It has a good inter-rather reliability (agreement between different observers). Bick tested it for the the SS for a team of trained observers and found agreement of 94% of cases. This may be because of the controlled conditions and easy observations. This means we can be confident that SS isn’t based on subjective judgments

Question 29

What’s the limitation of stranger situation

Answer 29

It may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts. SS was developed in Britain and the US and so it may be culturally bound. One reasons because babies in different cultures have different experiences and may have different responses to SS. This means that it is difficult to know the SS is measuring in different cultures