Measuring Attachment SSP (booklet 4)

Question 1

Proximity seeking

Answer 1

An infant with a good attachment will stay fairly close to the caregiver

Question 2

Exploration and secure base

Answer 2

Good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base i .e. a point of contact that will make them feel safe

Question 3

Stranger anxiety

Answer 3

A sign of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches

Question 4

Separation anxiety

Answer 4

A sign of becoming attached is protesting at separation from the caregiver

Question 5

Response to reunion

Answer 5

With the caregiver after separation for a short period of time under controlled conditions

Question 6

Ainsworth’s strange situation aim and procedure

Answer 6

Aim= to investigate and measure the quality of an infant’s attachment to their mother using an objective, scientific, standardised procedure
Procedure= controlled observation, series of stages where child’s behaviour is observed and used to judge attachment

Question 7

Stages of strange situation

Answer 7

Child and mother are playing together in an unfamiliar room
Child encouraged to explore- exploration and secure base
Stranger tries to interact with child- stranger anxiety
Caregiver leaves child and stranger together- separation and stranger anxiety
Caregiver returns and stranger leaves- reunion behaviour and exploration/secure base
Caregiver leaves child alone- separation anxiety
Stranger returns- stranger anxiety
Caregiver returns and is reunited with child- reunion behaviour

Question 8

Name 3 types of attachment Ainsworth identified

Answer 8

Secure attachment
Insecure-avoidant
Insecure-resistant

Question 9

Secure attachment

Answer 9

Children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base behaviour)
Moderate separation distress + stranger anxiety
Require and accept comfort from caregiver in reunion stage
60-75% of British toddlers

Question 10

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 10

Explore freely but don’t seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
Little or no reaction when caregiver leaves and little contact when caregiver returns
Little stranger anxiety
Don’t require comfort at reunion stage
20-25% of toddlers

Question 11

Insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 11

Seek greater proximity so explore less
Huge stranger and separation distress
Resist comfort when reunited with carer
Around 3% of toddlers

Question 12

Main and Solomon (1986)

Answer 12

Identified fourth type of attachment- ‘disorganised’
No consistent response to the strange situation
Infants show an odd mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours
Closely linked to neglect and abuse

Question 13

Evaluate strange situation - predictive validity

Answer 13

SSP predicts baby’s later development
Secure infants have better outcomes eg better achievement in school, less involvement in bullying, better mental health in adulthood
Measures something real and meaningful in baby’s development

Question 14

Evaluate strange situation- reliability

Answer 14

Has good inter rater reliability
Agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
Controlled conditions and clear, observable behaviours eg crying and crawling away from strangers
Confident attachment type measured by SSP is not subjective

Question 15

Evaluate strange situation- culture bound

Answer 15

May not be valid in other cultural contexts
Developed in Britain and US
Takahashi (1986) found a disproportionate amount of Japanese babies were classified as insecure-resistant due to high separation anxiety
Suggested this was not due to attachment insecurity but unusual nature of experience as mother baby separation is rare in japan
Doesn’t measure attachment effectively in other cultures