Types of Attachment

• Peels - Ainsworth's Strange Situation

  1. Strength - has high validity - secure babies have greater success at school and longer lasting romantic relationships

  • provides predictive validity
• Peels - Ainsworth's Strange Situation

  2) Strength - very good inter - rater reliability - Bick et al (2012) found 94% agreement when different observers watched the same children

  • provides reliability
• Peels - Ainsworth's Strange Situation

  3) Weakness - culture-bound test - Takashi notes that Japanese mothers are rarely separated from infants and show high levels of anxiety

  • lacks generalisability
• Peels - Ainsworth's Strange Situation:

  4) Weakness - temperament may be a confounding variable - Kagan (1982) - Ainsworth's explanation may not be entirely accurate and there are weaknesses in the methodology - genetically influenced anxiety levels
• Remembering the PEELs - Ainsworth's Strange Situation

  1. High validity
  2. Good Inter-rater reliability
  3. Culture-bound
  4. Temperament may be a confounding variable
• Simpson et al (2007) found similar findings to Hazan and Schaver. They both found that PPs who were secure infants were

  • more socially competent
  • closer to friends at 16
  • more expressive and emotionally attached to partners
• Ainsworth's strange situation - What happens:

  Ep 1 - Caregiver takes the infants into lab room and they leave them to explore

  Ep 2 - Stranger enters and approaches the infant

  Ep 3 - Caregiver leaves and stranger interacts with infant

  Ep 4 - Caregiver returns and the stranger leaves

  Ep 5 - The caregiver leaves so the infant is alone

  Ep 6 - The Stranger leaves enters and interacts with the infant

  Ep 7 - The caregiver returns and greets the infant
• Ainsworth's Strange situation - What it tests:

  Ep 1 - Exploration + Secure Base

  Ep 2 - Stranger anxiety

  Ep 3 - Separation and stranger anxiety

  Ep 4 - Reunion behaviour + exploration/secure base

  Ep 5 - Separation anxiety

  Ep 6 - Stranger anxiety

  Ep 7 - Reunion behaviour
• Reunion behaviour shows what attachment type the baby is
• Ainsworth's strange situation is a:

  • controlled
  • overt
  • Non-Participant Observation
  • Conducted in America
• Insecure Avoidant Babies:

  • Explore freely without being bothered when mum leaves
  • Isn't upset when mum leaves
  • not bothered when mum comes back
  • not bothered by strangers

  20-25%
• Secure babies:

  • explores happily while keeping an eye on mum
  • moderately upset when mum goes
  • readily comforted when mum returns
  • a little wary of strangers

  60-75%
• Insecure resistant babies:

  • doesn't explore much and stays near mum
  • extremely upset when mum goes
  • cross with mum when she returns and not easily comforted
  • doesn't like strangers at all

  3%
• Aims of Simonelli et al (2014):

  To investigate whether the proportion of babies of different attachment types matches those found in pervious studies - italian
• Procedures of Simonella et al (2014):

  The researchers assessed 76 babies aged 12 months using the strange situation
• Results of Simonelli et al (2014):

  • 50% were secure and 36% insecure-avoidant
  • So lower rate of secure and higher of Insecure-avoidant then in many studies
  • researchers suggest this is because increasing numbers of mums working long hours used childcare
• Conclusions of Simonella et al (2014):

  These findings suggest that patterns of attachment types are not static but vary with culture
• Behaviours used to judge attachment:

  • proximity seeking
  • exploration and secure base behaviour
  • stranger anxiety
  • separation protest
  • response to reunion