Types of attachment

• Ainsworth's Strange Situation:

  The Strange Situation was an experiment Ainsworth designed to test children's separation anxiety when isolated from their parent and their stranger anxiety when introduced to someone new. The experiment had eight episodes where the child played in a room either with or without their mother and/or a stranger.
• Separation anxiety

  • The degree of distress shown by infants when parted from attachment figures.
• Ainsworth's attachment types:

  • Type A : Insecure-avoidant
  • Type B : Securely attached
  • Type C : Insecure-resistant
• Secure Attachment characteristics:

  • Infants are upset when left alone by the mother.
  • Infants are happy when mother returns and seek contact with the mother.
  • Infants avoid the stranger when alone, but friendly when the mother is present.
  • The infants uses the mother as a safe base to explore their environment.
  • This type of attachment occurs because the mother meets the emotional needs of the infant.
• Insecure Avoidant characteristics:

  • Infants are unconcerned by mother’s absence when she leaves the room.
  • Infants shows little interest when they are reunited with the mother (i.e. she returns to the room).
  • Infants are strongly avoidant of mother and stranger, showing no motivation to interact with either adult. The stranger is treated similar to the mother (does not seek contact).
  • This type of attachment occurs because the mother ignores the emotional needs of the infant.
• Insecure Resistant characteristics:

  • infants are clingy to their mother in a new situation and are not willing to explore. Suggesting that they do not have trust in her.
  • they are extremely distressed when left alone.
  • they can't be comforted by a stranger and won't interact with them, they treat the stranger and the mother very differently.
  • when the mother returns they're happy to see her and go to her for comfort, but then cannot be comforted and may show signs of anger towards her.
  • This attachment style occurs because the mother is inconsistent with the infants needs.