Types Of Attachment

Question 1

Who developed the Strange Situations procedure?

Answer 1

Ainsworth and Bell (1970)

Question 2

What is the aim of the Strange Situations?

Answer 2

To observe attachment behaviours to assess attachment quality

Question 3

What type of observation was used in the Strange Situations procedure?

Answer 3

Controlled observation

Question 4

What is the procedure of the Strange Situation?

Answer 4

• Caregiver and Infant in unfamiliar room (baby feels some kind of stress)
• Baby encouraged to explore = exploration and secure base behaviour
• Stranger enters, talks to caregiver and approaches baby = proximity seeking and stranger anxiety
• Caregiver leaves baby alone with stranger = high stranger anxiety and separation
• Caregiver returns, stranger leaves = response to reunion

Question 5

What behaviours are explored in the Strange Situations procedure?

Answer 5

PRESS

Proximity seeking: staying close to caregiver
Response to reunion: greet caregiver with pleasure and seek comfort
Exploring and secure base behaviour: confident enough to explore, caregiver is a secure base
Stranger anxiety: better attachment = higher anxiety
Separation anxiety: better attachment = higher anxiety

Question 6

What were the results of strange situation?

Answer 6

Ainsworth found that there were patterns in babies behaviour

3 types of attachment

Question 7

What is the 1st type of attachment?

Answer 7

Secure attachment

• explore happily
• touch base with caregiver
• moderate separation/stranger anxiety
• require and accept comfort from caregiver on reunion

Question 8

What percentage of British babies are classified as Secure?

Answer 8

> 60-65%

Question 9

What is the 2nd type of attachment?

Answer 9

Insecure-avoidant attachment

• explore happily
• doesnt touch base with caregiver
• little/no separation/stranger anxiety
• doesnt require or accept comfort from caregiver on reunion

Question 10

What percentage of British babies are classified as insecure-avoidant?

Answer 10

20-25%

Question 11

What characterizes the 3rd type of attachment?

Answer 11

Insecure-resistant attachment

• Explore less
• touch base with caregiver more
• high separation/stranger anxiety
• resist comfort from caregiver on reunion

Question 12

What percentage of British babies are classified as Insecure-resistant?

Answer 12

About 3%

Question 13

What is a strength of the Strange Situations procedure regarding later development?

Answer 13

Predicts aspects of babies’ later development

• lots of research suggests secure babies have better childhoods (less bullying and better academic success) and adulthood (better mental health)
• insecure resistant have the worst outcomes
• strange situation measures something real and meaningful

Question 14

What’s more strengths of strange situations?

Answer 14

• Good inter-rater reliability (repeated and produced same results 94% of the time)
• lab conditions and observable behaviours (controlled variables: internal validity)
• based on evidence and not subjective (compared to studies that relied on mothers reports - schaffer and emerson)

Question 15

What’s a limitation of strange situation?

Answer 15

Not all psychologists agree its measuring attachment

Kagan suggests that genetic anxiety could account for the differences in childhood and adulthood

Question 16

What is a limitation of the Strange Situations regarding cultural applicability?

Answer 16

May not apply to all cultures

Babies have different experiences in different cultures
- Takahashi suggested babies have very high separation anxiety, not due to attachment insecurity but due to unfamiliar conditions
> japanese babies dont tend to be away from their mother at al