Types of attachment Flashcards
What 3 types of attachment was outlined by Ainsworth’s strange situation?
Insecure resistant attachment (A)
Secure attachment (B)
insecure-avoidant attachment (C)
What is the procedure of Ainsworth’s strange situation?
-controlled observation in laboratory setting where baby is observed through 2-way mirror or cameras
7 stages:
1)Baby encouraged to explore - tests secure base
2) A stranger comes in and talks to caregiver and approaches baby - testing stranger anxiety
3)The caregiver leaves the baby and stranger together - testing stranger and separation anxiety
4) Caregiver returns and stranger leaves - testing reunion
5) Caregiver leaves - testing separation anxiety
6) stranger returns - testing stranger anxiety
7) Caregiver and baby reunite - tests reunion behaviour
What is insecure-resistant attachment? (type A)
-seek greater proximity to parent so explore less
- high levels of stranger and separation anxiety
-resist comfort in reunion stage and continue to show signs of distress
-around 3% of British babies
What is secure attachment(Type B)?
-explore happily but frequently return to caregiver and seek comfort
- usually show moderate separation and stranger anxiety
-accept and require comfort from caregiver in reunion stage
-60-75% of British babies
What is insecure-avoidant attachment(Type C)
-explore freely
-do not need proximity to caregiver or show secure-base behaviour
-little separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
-make little contact when caregiver returns and may ignore them
-20-25% of British babies
What are the strengths of Ainsworth strange situation (1970)
-Good predictive validity:Type B children have better outcomes in childhood and adulthood. Better achievement in school and less involvement of bullying (McCormick) .Ward (2006): securely attached babies state they will have better mental health. Those with resistant attachment or outside the 3 types have worst outcomes. This suggests the strange situation is something real and meaningful in babies development.
However, whilst it is clear it measures something, it might not be attachment. E.g. Kagan suggested that genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for the variation in attachment behaviour in strange situations and later behaviour.
-Good reliability: Good inter-rater reliability. Johanna Bick (2012) tested inter-rater reliability for the trained team and found agreement on 94% of cases. This may be because it was conducted in controlled conditions and easily observable behaviour e.g. baby crawling away from a stranger. Therefore, this means the decisions on the type of attachment are not due to subjective assessments and judgments.
What are the weaknesses of Ainsworth strange situation (1970)
Culture bound: Study was developed in US and Britain and may only be applicable to babies behaviours in these Western cultures due to parenting techniques. For example in a japansese study by Keiko Takahashi(1986) more babies classified as insecure resistant as they displayed high levels of separation anxiety. Takahasi (1990) suggested this was because of experiences in Japan where Mother-child separation is uncommon. This means that the strange situation may not be a universal indicator for attachment levels as child-rearing techniques differ in different cultures.
