Types Of Attachment Flashcards
Who developed the strange situation?
Ainsworth and Bell.
What was the aim of the strange situation?
To be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a baby’s attachment to a caregiver.
What type of observation was the strange situation?
A controlled observation designed to measure the security of attachment a baby displays towards a caregiver.
Where does the strange situation happen?
In a room with quite controlled conditions, a two way mirror and/ or cameras which psychologists can observe the babys behaviour through.
What were the behaviours used to judge attachment?
- Proximity-seeking - a baby with good quality attachment stays fairly close to a caregiver.
- Exploration and secure-base behaviour - good attachment lets babys feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base.
- Stranger anxiety - one sign of becoming closely attached is displaying anxiety when a stranger approaches.
- Separation anxiety - protesting separation form the caregiver.
- Response to reunion - securely attached babies greet the caregivers return with pleasure and seek comfort.
What happens at the beginning of the strange situation?
The baby and caregiver enter an unfamiliar playroom.
Stage 1 of the strange situation
The baby is encouraged to explore - tests exploration and secure base.
Stage 2 of the strange situation
A stranger comes in, talks to the caregiver and approaches the baby - tests stranger anxiety.
What is stage 3 of the strange situation?
The caregiver leaves the baby and stranger together - tests separation and stranger anxiety.
What is sage 4 of the strange situation?
The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour and exploration/ secure base.
What is stage 5 of the strange situation?
The caregiver leaves the baby alone - tests separation anxiety.
What is stage 6 of the strange situation?
The stranger returns - tests stranger anxiety.
What is stage 7 of the strange situation?
The caregiver returns and is reunited with the baby - tests reunion behaviour.
What were the three attachment types discovered from the findings of the strange situation?
- Insecure - avoidant attachment
- Secure attachment
- Insecure-resistant attachment
Secure attachment (type B)
Babies explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver.
Show moderate separation distress and stranger anxiety.
Require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage.
About 60%-75% of British babies = secure.
Insecure-avoidant attachment (type A)
Explore freely but don’t seek proximity/ show secure base behaviour.
Show little/ no reaction when their caregiver leaves and little stranger anxiety.
Make little effort to make contact with caregiver when they return and may even avoid contact with them.
20-25% of British babies = insecure-avoidant.
Insecure-resistant attachment (type C)
Seek greater proximity.
Explore less.
Show high levels of stranger/ separation distress but resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver.
3% of British babies = insecure-resistant.
Evaluation: Outcome predicts a number of aspects of the babys later development.
Research has shown babies and toddlers assessed as securely attached tend to have better outcomes than others in later childhood and adulthood.
Childhood = better achievement in school and less involvement in bullying.
Adulthood = better mental health.
Suggests the SS measures something real and meaningful in babies later development.
Evaluation: not all psychologists believe the SS measures attachment.
Kagan suggested that genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour in the SS and later development. This means SS may not actually measure attachment.
Evaluation: Good inter-rater reliability
Bick et al tested inter-rater reliability for SS and found agreement on attachment types in 94% of cases. This high level of reliability could be because the procedure is done under controlled conditions and because behaviours involve large movements that are easy to observe. This means we can be confident in attachment types assessed by SS and that this doesn’t depend on subjective judgments.
Evaluation: It may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts.
One Japanese study by Takahashi found babies displaying high levels of separation anxiety and so a disproportionate number were classified as insecure-resistant. Takahashi suggests this anxiety response want due to high rates of attachment insecurity but to the unusual nature of the experience in Japan where mother-baby separation is rare. This means it’s difficult to know what SS is measuring when outside Western Europe and the USA.
