types of attachment: strange situation

Question 1

who was ‘strange situation’ developed by and what was the aim?

Answer 1

• developed by mary ainsworth and silvia bell (1970)
• aim was to be able to observe key attachment behaviour as a means of assessing the quality of a baby’s attachment to a caregiver

Question 2

what were the conditions of strange situation?

Answer 2

• controlled observation procedure
• takes place in a room with controlled conditions (ie. a lab) with a two-way mirror and/or cameras through which psychologists can observe the baby’s behaviour

Question 3

what 5 behaviours are used to judge attachment?

Answer 3

• proximity-seeking
• exploration and secure-base behaviour
• stranger anxiety
• separation anxiety
• response to reunion

Question 4

what happens during the 8 episodes, each of which lasts 3 minutes?

Answer 4

1. researcher introduces parent and baby to playroom then leaves
2. baby is encouraged to explore
3. a stranger comes in, talks to the caregiver and approaches the baby
4. the caregiver leaves the baby and stranger together
5. the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
6. the caregiver leaves the baby alone
7. the stranger returns
8. the caregiver returns and is reunited with baby

Question 5

what behaviour does each of the 8 episodes test?

Answer 5

1. N/A
2. exploration and secure base
3. stranger anxiety
4. separation and stranger anxiety
5. reunion behaviour and exploration/secure base
6. separation anxiety
7. stranger anxiety
8. reunion behaviour

Question 6

what is secure attachment (type B)?

Answer 6

• explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity-seeking and secure-base behaviour)
• moderate separation distress and stranger anxiety
• require and accept comfort from caregiver in reunion stage
• 60-75% of british babies are classified as secure
• generally thought of as the most desirable attachment type, associated with psychologically healthy outcomes

Question 7

what is insecure-avoidant attachment (type A)?

Answer 7

• explore freely but do no seek proximity and show secure-base behaviour
• show little or no reaction when caregiver leaves and little stranger anxiety
• make little effort to make contact with caregiver returns and may even avoid such contact
• 20-25% of british babies are classified as insecure-avoidant

Question 8

what is insecure-resistant attachment (type C)?

Answer 8

• seek greater proximity than others and so explore less
• show high levels of stranger and separation distress
• resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver
• 3% of british babies are classified as insecure-resistant

Question 9

evaluation: good predictive validity for a number of aspects of the baby’s later development

Answer 9

• lots of research has shown that babies assessed as type B 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 with 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)
• babies assessed as having insecure-resistant attachment and those not falling into type A, B, or C tend to have the worst outcomes
• strange situation measures something real and meaningful in baby’s development

Question 10

evaluation: (counterpoint) strange situation does not measure attachment

Answer 10

• SS clearly measures something important that is associated with later development
• not all psychologists believe this something is attachment
• kagan (1982) suggested that genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour in SS
• SS may not actually measure attachment

Question 11

evaluation: good inter-rater reliability

Answer 11

• johanna bick et al. (2012) tested inter-rater reliability for SS 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 (eg. stranger anxiety) involve large movements and are therefore easy to observe (eg. crying and crawling away from strangers)
• we can be confident that attachment type as assessed by SS does not depend on subjective judgements

Question 12

evaluation: may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts

Answer 12

• SS was developed in UK and US
• may be culture-bound ie. only valid for use in certain cultures
• babies have different experiences in different cultures and these experiences may affect their responses to SS
• in one japanese study by takahashi (1986) babies displayed very high signs of separation anxiety so a disproportionate number were classified as insecure-resistant
• takahashi (1990) suggests that the 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 rare
• it is very difficult to know what SS is measuring when used outside europe and US

Question 13

evaluation: other attachment types

Answer 13

• main and solomon (1986) identified a fourth category of attachment
• disorganised or type D attachment is a mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours
• however, type D babies are unusual and have generally experience some form of severe neglect or abuse
• most will go on to develop psychological disorders by adulthood