types of attachment

• who conducted the study?

  Ainsworth and Bell (1970)
• what was the procedure?

  developed the strange situation as a method to assess the quality of attachment to the caregiver
• what were the 5 categories used to judge quality of attachment?

  1. proximity seeking - well attached babies stay close to caregiver
  2. exploration and secure base behaviour - baby will be confident to explore if well attached and use caregiver as a point of safety
  3. stranger anxiety - displayed by well attached babies
  4. seperation anxiety - displayed by well attached babies
  5. response to reunion with caregiver - well attached babies are enthusiastic
• what were the 7 parts of the strange situation?

  1. baby encouraged to explore by caregiver
  2. stranger enters and talks to caregiver and approaches baby
  3. caregiver leaves strnager stays
  4. caregiver returns stranger leaves
  5. caregiver leaves baby alone
  6. stranger returns
  7. caregiver returns

  each part lasts about 3 mins
• what were the attachment types they found and how many babies were in each catagory?

  Type A - insecure avoidant attachment (20-25%)

  Type B - secure attachment (60-75%)

  Type C - insecure resistant attachment (3%)
• how did the babies who had secure attachment behave?

  baby happy to explore but seeks proximity to caregiver

  shows moderate seperatuion and stranger anxiety

  requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion
• how did babies with insecure avoidant attachment behave?

  baby explores freely but does not seek proximity to caregiver

  shows little to no seperation and stranger anxiety

  avoids contact on reunion
• what are the strengths of this study?

  has good predictive validity

  has good inter rater reliability
• what are the limitations of this study?

  may be a culture bound test

  there may be other attachment types
• why does the strange situation have good predictive validity?

  attachment type predicts later development (secure babies typically have more success in school)

  insecure resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes such as mental health problems

  this is evidence for the validity of the concept as it can explain future outcomes
• why does the strange situation have good inter rater reliability?

  different observers watching the same babies generally agree on attachment type Bick et al found 94% agreement in one team

  this may be because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe

  this means that we can be confident the teh attachment type of a baby identified in the strange situation does not just depend on who is observing them
• why is it a culture bound test?

  the strange situation test may not have the the same meaning in countries outside europe and the US

  cultural differences in childrens experiences mean they respond differently e.g. japanese babies show high levels of anxiety as tehy arent used to being left by caregiver

  this means it difficult to know what the strange situation is measuring in some cultures
• why is the fact there may be other types of attachment a limitation?

  Main and Solomon (1986) identified a fourth categoryof attachment (type D) disorganised attachment

  type d babies are unusual and usually have experienced severe neglect or abuse

  this means that ainsworths classification is adequate as a description of normal variations in attachment