Types of Attachment

Question 1

What was the procedure of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation?

Answer 1

• A controlled observation designed to assess attachment security.
• Babies are assessed on playing in an an unfamiliar room
• being left alone
• being left with a stranger
• being reunited with caregiver

Question 2

What is Proximity seeking?

Answer 2

• a securely attached baby will stay fairly close to the caregiver

Question 3

What does Exploration and secure-base behaviour mean in terms of the Strange Situation?

Answer 3

• good attachment enables a baby to feel confident enough to explore using caregiver as a secure base

Question 4

What were 3 other factors analysed?

Answer 4

• Stranger anxiety
• Separation anxiety
• Response on reunion

Question 5

What are the three types of attachment?

Answer 5

• Secure attachment
• Insecure-resistant attachment
• Insecure-avoidant attachment

Question 6

What are the features of a a securely attachment baby?

Answer 6

• Explore happily but regularly go back to their caregivers
• Moderate separation stress
• Moderate stranger anxiety
• Require and accept comfort from caregiver during the reunion stage
• 60-75% of British babies
• Type B

Question 7

What are the features of an Insecure-resistant attached baby?

Answer 7

• Greater proximity than others and so explore less
• High levels of stranger/separation anxiety
• Resist comfort in the reunion stage
• 3% of British babies
• Type C

Question 8

What are the features of an insecure-avoidant attached baby?

Answer 8

• Explore freely do not seek proximity
• little/no reaction to separation and little stranger anxiety
• little effort for contact on reunion and maybe even avoid such contact
• 20-25% of British babies
• Type A

Question 9

How could this be considered culture bound?

Answer 9

• Only British/American babies were initially tested in the strange situation so although these findings may apply to babies in individualist western cultures it may not apply to those in more collectivist cultures therefore is not universally applicable

Question 10

Can the Strange situation be predictive if so how?

Answer 10

• Babies and toddlers assessed as Type B tend to have better outcomes than others. Do better in school and less involvement in bullying. Also better mental health as adults. Measures something valuable and real in baby’s development

Question 11

In what way could the strange situation have a negative impact on people?

Answer 11

• If somebody if labelled as ‘Insecure-resistant’ or ‘Insecure-avoidant’ it may create a self-fulfilling prophecy and so make people act in certain self-limiting ways