Types of Attachment Flashcards
who conducted the strange situation test?
Mary Ainsworth in 1978
strange situation aim
to see how 106 infants aged between 9 - 18 months behave under conditions of mild stress and also novelty
strange situation method
- 9x9 foot space marked into 16 squares to help monitoring
- controlled observation of a mother and child interacting in 8 different scenarios
- set up in a lab with a two-way mirror infront of Ainsworth and multiple observers
what were the four main behaviours observed?
- exploration behaviour (is the mother a secure base)
- stranger anxiety
- separation anxiety
- reunion behaviour
what were the eight episodes ?
1) mother and baby enter room 2) mother sits and responds to baby 3) stranger enters, talks to mother, and gradually approaches baby 4) mother leaves 5) stranger and baby together 6) mother returns, stranger leaves, when baby is settled mother leaves again 7) baby is alone 8) stranger returns and is alone with baby 9) mother returns, stranger leaves
what are the types of attachments?
(percentage of infants in study)
- type b: secure, 66%
- type c: insecure resistant, 12%
- type a: insecure avoidant, 22%
secure exploration
explore unfamiliar space, returns to secure base regularly
avoidant exploration
explores unfamiliar space but doesn’t use mum as a secure base
resistant exploration
doesn’t explore, choose to stay close/cling to mother
secure separation anxiety
moderate - play seriously disrupted
avoidant separation anxiety
low - not concerned by the departure
resistant separation anxiety
extreme/high - extreme distress and violence
secure stranger anxiety
moderate - wary of stranger, move closer to mum
avoidant stranger anxiety
low - unconceived, treat mum and stranger equally
resistant stranger anxiety
extreme/high - extreme distress when a stranger confronts them
secure reunion behaviour
joy on reunion, seeks proximity, easily confronted
avoidant reunion behaviour
little reaction, ignores mum, avoids intimacy
resistant reunion behaviour
not easily comforted by mother
strengths of the strange situation test
High inter-observer reliability
- Ainsworth found 0.94 level of agreement between observers
Predictive validity
- Hazan and Shaver found ppts attachment styles positively correlated to their child attachment style
limitations of the strange situation test
Attachment type classification
- main and Soloman proposed a 4th type labelled disorganised
Lacks internal validity
- main and Weston found children reacted differently depending on which parent they did the test with - so measuring relationship quality