Types of attachment - Ainsworth strange situation

Question 1

What 5 behavioural catagories were used in the Strange Situation?

Answer 1

Proximity-seeking behaviours

Secure base

Stranger anxiety

Separation anxiety

Reunion behaviour

Question 2

What are the three types of attachment?

Answer 2

Secure

Insecure-avoidant

Insecure resistant

Question 3

What are the 8 episodes in the Strange Situation?

What did each episode test

Answer 3

1) Parent + infant play

2) Parent sits while infant plays
-tests idea of a secure base

3) Stranger comes in and begins talking to the parent
-tests stranger anxiety

4) Parent leaves, stranger stays and offers comfort when appropriate
-tests separation anxiety

5) Parent returns, greets infant and offers comfort. Stranger leaves
-tests reunion behaviour

6) Parent leaves (infant left alone)
-tests seperation anxiety

7) Stranger returns and offers comfort
-tests stranger anxiety

8)Parent returns, offers comfort and greets infant
-tests reunion behaviour

Question 4

What are some features of secure attachment (Type B)

Answer 4

Won’t cry when caregiver leaves

Some distress when with stranger

Uses caregiver as a secure base to come back to when exploring independently

Comfortable with social interaction and intimacy

Seeks close contact with caregver when distressed

Question 5

What are some features of insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A)

Answer 5

Avoids social interaction and intimacy

Shows little to no response upon separation with caregiver, little response upon reunion

Doesn’t cling on or resist when picked up or put down by caregiver

Explores without secure base

Very anxious

Question 6

What are some features of insecure-resistant attachment (Type C)

Answer 6

Seeks AND resists social interaction and intimacy

Intense distress upon seperation with caregiver

Upon reunion, they may hit caregiver but also try and stay close with them

(Contradictory attachment behaviours)

Question 7

AO3 -

4th type of attachment is overlooked

Answer 7

Main & Soloman

Watched over 200 Strange Situation tapes

Proposed there was a 4th type of attachment : Insecure-disorganised

-Strong attachment behaviour, followed by suddenly avoiding or being afraid of the caregiver.

Therefore Ainsworths conclusions were oversimplified

Question 8

AO3 -

Culture bias

Answer 8

Designed based on US children and attachment

This leads to non-americans being judged to an american standard.

• Japanese infants were labelled as insecure-resistant due to high levels of distress when being left alone.
• The distress was due to not usually being left alone in their culture, not because they were insecurely attached.

Question 9

AO3 +

High reliability

Answer 9

Ainsworth found almost perfect inter-observer reliability in the Strange Situation.

There was a 0.94 agreement between observers.

Increases reliability of the Strange Situation due to high inter-observer reliability

Question 10

AO3 +

Replicable

Answer 10

The Strange Situation is highly operationalised, as Ainsworth made 5 clear behaviour criteria.

If the Strange Situation was to be replicated by another researcher, they would be able to do so accurately

Therefore allows the reliability of SS to be checked through replication of it