Types of attachment Flashcards
What was the strange situation?
- A controlled observation designed to test attachment & security
Babies are assessed on thier response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left w a stranger & being reunited with caregiver
How was the procedure of the strange situation conducted?
SS conducted in a room with:
* A one way window for observing & filming
* A door for adults to enter & leave
* Collection of toys for infant to explore
* Chair for mother to sit in
* Chair for a research assistant to sit in
What was the purpose of the strange situation?
- To see if there were different attachments between the primary caregiver & the infant
- To see if it is possible to categorise these into different types
What were the behaviours used do judge attachment in the SS?
- Proximity-seeking
- Exploration & secure base behaviour
- Stranger anxiety
- Separation anxiety
- Response to reunion
Proximity seeking-
A baby with a good quality attachment will stay fairly close to caregiver
Exploration & secure base behaviour-
Good attachment enables a baby to feel confident to explore using their caregivers as a secure base
i.e point of contact that will make them feel safe
Stranger anxiety-
One of signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when stranger approaches
Separation anxiety-
Another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from caregiver
Response to union-
Babies who are securely attached greet caregivers return with pleasure & seek comfort
The procedure had 7 episodes each of which lasts three minuets what were these episodes?
Beginning: Caregiver & baby enter unfamiliar room
1. Baby is encouraged to explore- test exploration & secure base
2. A strangers comes in, talks to caregiver & approaches baby- tests stranger anxiety
3. Caregiver leaves baby & stranger together- test separation & stranger anxiety
4. Caregiver returns & stranger leaves- Test reunion behaviour & exploration/secure base
5. Caregiver leaves the baby alone-Test separation anxiety
6. Stranger returns-Test stranger anxiety
7. Caregiver returns & is reunited w baby-Test reunion behaviour
What were Ainsworths et al’s findings?
Found distinct patterns in the way that babies behaved- They identified 3 main types of attachment:
* Insecure-avoidant attachment (type A)
* Secure attachment (type B)
* Insecure-resistant attachment (type C)
What is insecure-avoidant attachment (type A)?
- These babies explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour.
- Show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves & little stranger anxiety
- Make little effort to make contact when caregiver returns & may avoid such contact
About 20-25% of british babies are classified as insecure-avoidant
What is secure attachment (type B)?
- These babies explore happily but regularly go back to caregiver (proximity seeking & secure base behaviour)
- Usually show moderate separation distress & moderate stranger anxiety
- Securely attached babies require & accept comfort from caregiver in reunion stage.
About 60-75% of babies are classified as secure
What is insecure resistant attachment (type C)?
- These babies seek greater proximity than others & so explore less
- Show high levels of stranger & separation distress
- But resist comfort when reunited with caregiver
(almost like they are angry at them for leaving)
Around 3% of british babies are classified as insecure-resistant
Give one strength of the strange situation.
- It has good predictive validity
Accurately predicts a number of aspects of the baby’s later development - Large body of research showed that babies & toddlers assessed as type B tend to have better outcomes than others in later childhood & adulthood
- Secure- better achievement in school, less involvement in bullying, better mental health
- Those babies who have insecure-resistant attachment & those not falling into types A,B or C tend to have the worst outcomes
Suggests that strange situation measures something real & meaningful in a baby’s development
Give another strength of the Strange situation.
- It has good inter-rater reliability (the agreement between different observers)
Bick et al (2012) - Tested inter-rater reliability for SS- a team of trained observers found agreement on attachment in 94% of cases
Means we can be confident that attachment type as assessed by strange situation does not depend on subjctive judgements
What was the supporting study for the limitation of the SS being culture bound?
For example in on Japanese study by KeikoTakahashi:
Babies displayed v high levels of separation anxiety & so disproportionate number were classified as insecure resistant
- However, Takahashi suggests this anxiety response was not due to high rates of attachment insecurity but due to the fact that mother-baby separation in Japan is very rare
Means v difficult to know what the SS is measuring when outside Europe & US
What one limitation of the strange situation?
- The test may be culture bound & may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts
SS was developed in Britain & Us (may be culture bound & therefore only valid for Britain & US)
One reason for this is that babies have different experiences in different cultures & these experiences may affect their response to SS
