Attachment styles

• What is meant by: A secure attachment?

  A secure attachment refers to a healthy and stable emotional bond between a child and their caregiver, characterised by trust, safety, and responsiveness.

  • High stranger anxiety
  • Caregiver is used as a safe base
  • High separation anxiety
  • Happy reunion behaviour
• What is meant by: An insecure avoidant attachment?


  An insecure avoidant attachment is an attachment style where a child forms a weak and indifferent attachment to their caregiver.

  • low stranger anxiety
  • low separation anxiety
  • an indifference to the caregiver even after reunion
• What is meant by: An insecure resistant attachment?


  An attachment style where a child forms an attachment based on inconsistent caregiving, leading to attention-seeking behaviour.

  • unwillingness to explore without the caregiver
  • high stranger anxiety
  • high separation anxiety
  • angry reunion behaviour
• Which researcher first investigated attachment styles?

  Mary Ainsworth
• What is meant by: A collectivist culture?


  A culture that values the group over the individual.
• What is meant by: An individualistic culture?


  A culture that emphasizes individual goals, independence, and personal achievement.
• Which researchers investigated cultural variations in attachment styles?

  Ijzendoorn and Kroonenburg.
• What are three strengths of the Strange Situation study?

  • controlled extraneous variables
  • easy to replicate
  • reliable across time
• What are three weaknesses of the Strange Situation study?

  • Culturally bias
  • Lacks population validity
  • Lacks ecological validity (Lab experiment)