Types of Attachment

What are secure attachments?

What are secure attachments?

There’s a strong bond between the child and its caregiver. If they’re separated, the infant becomes distressed. However, when they’re reunited, the child is easily comforted by the caregiver. The majority of the attachments are this type. Secure attachments are associated with healthy cognitive and emotional development

What is an insecure attachment?

The bond between the child and caregiver is weaker

Who came up with the two types of insecure attachments?

Ainsworth et al

What is an insecure-avoidant?

If they’re separated from their caregiver, the child doesn’t become particularly distressed, and can usually be comforted by a stranger. This type of insecure attachment is shown by children who generally avoid social interaction and intimacy with others

What is an insecure-resistant?

The child is often uneasy around their caregiver, but becomes upset if they’re separated. Strangers can’t give comfort, and it’s also often resisted by the caregiver. Children who show this style of attachment both accept and reject social interaction and intimacy

How do you know if a child is securely attached?

Ainsworth came up with the concept of the strange situation. She used it to assess how children react under conditions of stress (by separation from the caregiver and the presence of a stranger) and also to a new situation

What was the method of Ainsworth et al’s (1978) strange situation?

In a controlled observation, 12-18-month-old infants were left in a room with their mother. Eight different scenarios occurred, including being approached by a stranger, the infant being left alone, and the mother returning. The infant’s reactions were constantly observed

How many infants were ‘insecure avoidant’ (type a)?

15%

How many infants were ‘securely attached’ (type b)?

70%

How many infants were ‘insecure-resistance’ (type c)

15%

What is the conclusion of Ainsworth’s strange situation?

Infants showing different reactions to their carers have different types of attachment

What is the evaluation of Ainsworth’s strange situation?

The research method allowed control of the variables, making the results reliable. However, the laboratory-type situation made the study artificial, reducing the ecological validity. The parents may have changed their behaviour, knowing they were being observed. This could have affected the children’s behaviour. Also, the new situation in the experiment may have affected the children’s behaviour- the study might not accurately represent their behaviour in real life. Another problem is that the mother may have not been the child’s main attachment figure

What method did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonberg (1988) use in their cross-cultural studies?

They carried out a meta-analysis of 32 studies of ‘the strange situation’ in different countries (e.g. Japan, Britain, Sweeden, etc.) They were analysed to find any overall patterns

What was the dominant attachment type in western cultures?

Avoidant

What was the highest proportion of attachment type in Germany?

Insecure-avoidant

What is the dominant attachment in non-western cultures?

Resistant

What was the highest proportion of the attachment types in Japan?

Insecure-resistant

What is the evaluation of Ainsworth’s strange situation?

Children are brought up in different ways in different cultures. This might result in different types of attachment in different cultures. Because of this, the ‘strange situation’ might not be a suitable method for studying cross-cultural attachment. Using a different type of study may have revealed different patterns or types of attachment in different cultures. Also, the study assumes that different countries are the same thing as different cultures. One problem with the research method is that meta-analyses can hide individual results that show an unusual trend

What did Grossman et al (1985) claim?

He claimed that more ‘avoidant’ infants may be found in Germany because of the value Germans put on independence- so ‘avoidance’ is seen as good

What is the cause of different attachment types?

It is detachment. The causes may be the sensitivity of their carers and/or their inborn temperament

How would a securely attached child behave as an adult?

They’ll be more confident in school and form strong, trusting adult relationships

How would an avoidant child behave as an adult?

They’ll be insecure and attention-seeking in school and, as adults, their strong feelings of dependency may be stressful for partners