Types of Attachment Flashcards
What is the aim of The Strange Situation procedure?
To observe key attachment behaviours and assess the quality of a baby’s attachment to their caregiver.
Where does The Strange Situation procedure take place?
In a controlled laboratory setting with a two-way mirror and cameras for observation.
What are the key behaviours used to assess attachment in The Strange Situation?
• Proximity-seeking
• Exploration and secure-base behaviour
• Stranger anxiety
• Separation anxiety
• Response to reunion
What does proximity-seeking indicate about attachment?
A securely attached baby will stay close to the caregiver, showing the strength of the bond.
What does exploration and secure-base behaviour show in The Strange Situation?
A securely attached baby feels confident to explore but uses the caregiver as a safe base to return to.
What does stranger anxiety reveal about attachment?
Babies with strong attachments will show anxiety when a stranger approaches, indicating the importance of the caregiver’s presence.
What is separation anxiety?
A sign of attachment when a baby shows distress upon being separated from their caregiver.
What does a baby’s response to reunion indicate?
Securely attached babies will greet the caregiver with pleasure and seek comfort.
What are the seven episodes of The Strange Situation?
- Caregiver and baby enter unfamiliar room.
- Baby is encouraged to explore.
- Stranger enters, talks to caregiver, and approaches baby.
- Caregiver leaves, baby and stranger alone.
- Caregiver returns, stranger leaves.
- Caregiver leaves baby alone.
- Stranger returns, then caregiver reunites with baby.
What are the three types of attachment identified by Ainsworth?
- Secure attachment (Type B)
- Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A)
- Insecure-resistant attachment (Type C)
Describe secure attachment (Type B).
Babies explore happily but return to the caregiver. They show moderate separation distress, moderate stranger anxiety, and seek comfort upon reunion. (60-75% of babies).
Describe insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A).
Babies explore freely but avoid proximity and show little to no separation or stranger anxiety. They avoid contact during reunion. (20-25% of babies).
Describe insecure-resistant attachment (Type C).
Babies seek high proximity but explore less. They show high separation and stranger anxiety, yet resist comfort during reunion. (Around 3% of babies).
strength (1) of TYPES OF ATTACHMENT
One strength of the Strange Situation is that its outcome predicts a number of aspects of the baby’s later development.
A large body of research has shown that babies and toddlers assessed as Type B (secure) tend to have better outcomes than others, both in later childhood and in adulthood. In childhood this includes better achievement in school and less involvement in bullying (McCormick et al. 2016, Kokkinos
2007). Securely attached babies also tend to go on to have better mental health in adulthood (Ward et al. 2006). Those babies assessed as having insecure-resistant attachment and those not falling into Types A, B or C tend to have the worst outcomes.
This suggests that the Strange Situation measures something real and meaningful in a baby’s development.
strength (2) of TYPES OF ATTACHMENT
A further strength of the Strange Situation is good inter-rater reliability (the agreement between different observers).
Johanna Bick et al. (2012) tested inter-rater reliability for the Strange Situation for a team of trained observers and found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases. This high level of reliability may be because the procedure takes place under controlled conditions and because behaviours (such as proximity-seeking and stranger anxiety) involve large movements and are therefore easy to observe. For example, anxious babies cry and crawl away from strangers.
This means that we can be condent inat attachment type as assessed by the Strange Situation does not depend on subjective judgements.
limitation of TYPES OF ATTACHMENT
One limitation of the Strange Situation is that it may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts.
The Strange Situation was developed in Britain and the US. It may be culture-bound, i.e. only valid for use in certain cultures (in this case Europe and the US). One reason for this is that babies have different experiences in different cultures and these experiences may affect their responses to the Strange Situation. For example, in one Japanese study by Keiko Takahashi
(1986), babies displayed very high levels of separation anxiety and so a disproportionate number were classified as insecure-resistant. Takahashi
(1990) suggests that this anxiety response was not due to high rates of attachment insecurity but to the unusual nature of the experience in Japan where mother-baby separation is very rare.
This means that it is very difficult to know what the Strange Situation is measuring when used outside Europe and the US.
