attachment styles - harlow, bawlby, ainsworth

Question 1

what is attachment?

Answer 1

the emotional bond between a baby and their main caregiver

Question 2

what is attachement theory?

Answer 2

states that attachement is a key factor in emotional development as it impacts how we engage in relationships with others later in life

Question 3

who created the attachement theory?

Answer 3

Bowlby

Question 4

what is maternal deprivation?

Answer 4

• children without a stable mother figure in their lives
• children who experienced this in the first few years of life had greater difficulty forming healthy attachements with others
• because we need a safe base to return to for emotional refuelling

Question 5

what did Mary Ainsworth observe?

Answer 5

• different babies demonstrated different types of attachment
• these are known as attachment styles

Question 6

what is the strange situation test?

Answer 6

• an experimental technique to test attachement style between a baby and its mother
• response to separation and strangers, which reveals the attachment type
• the child’s behaviours are monitored at eight stages, indicating their overall attachment style

Question 7

what are the four attachment types?

Answer 7

• secure
• insecure resistant (ambivalent)
• insecure avoidant
• insecure disorganised (added later, not in Ainsworth’s original theory)

Question 8

what is secure attachement?

Answer 8

• a child who has received consistent, loving caregiving
• they have come to learn that the caregiver is a safe place for comfort when needed

Question 9

what is insecure avoidant attachment?

Answer 9

• a child who has consistently been neglected or ignored when they needed comfort
• they have learned not to bother seeking comfort
• the avoidant child becomes emotionally distant

Question 10

what is insecure resistant (ambivalent) attachment?

Answer 10

• a child who has received inconsistent caregiving - sometimes there, sometimes not
• they become clingy and anxious, as they cannot be certain that their caregiver will be there to comfort them when they need it

Question 11

what is disorganised attachment?

Answer 11

• not one of Ainsworth’s original attachment styles
• a child who has experienced abuse
• a combination of avoidant and resistant styles

Question 12

strengths and weaknesses

Answer 12

strengths:
- supported by empirical evidence, e.g., Harlow’s monkey study
- considered reliable - produces consistent results, likely due to its good control of variables
- useful to help understand human relationships, and links to issues such as mental health
weaknesses:
- primate studies can be useful, but can’t directly be generalised to humans
- lacks ecological validity (artificial setting), generalisability issues
- attachment styles can change
- heavily focused on western cultures, criticised for being oversimplfied