Psychology Attachment (B541)

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Key Concepts:

Attachment is sometimes known as bonding. In other words, it describes a relatively strong and lasting emotional tie to another person. Most individuals' first attachment is to their parents or carers. After that, attachment can occur between brothers and sisters, between friends, lovers and with your own children. We seek to stay close to the people we have become attached to.

In about 6 months babies begin to show a strong attachment - usually to their primary caregiver(s). There are well-known ways of investigating whether a child has developed an attachment or not.

There are two main measures of attachment: Separation protest and stranger anxiety.

Separation protest measures how much a child is upset when they are left by their primary caregiver(s). If a child has formed an attachment to their primary caregiver, then they will show high levels of distress on separation, such as sobbing, searching for the caregiver and reaching after the caregiver. A child who has not formed an attachment will show little emotion when separated from the caregiver.

Stranger anxiety measures how much a child is afraid when they are in the presence of a stranger. If a child has formed an attachment to their primary caregiver(s), then they will express fear when approached by or left with a stranger. For example, they will start screaming, try to get away from the stranger or appear tense. A child who has not formed an attachment will show little emotion in the presence of a stranger.

The 'strange situation' (Ainsworth 1960s)

The strange situation involved observing mothers and their children in a laboratory via one-way mirror.  The children were between 12 and 18 months old and so should have easily formed attachments by then.

The strange situation involved a series of stages:

·        Mother and their infants entered the lab.

·        The infants played with some toys while the mother was still there.

·        A stranger then entered the lab and the mother left.

·        The stranger tried to comfort the infant.

·        The mother returned and the stranger then left.

·        The mother comforted the infant and then left for a second time.

·        The child was left alone for a short period of time.

·        The stranger returned and tried to interact with the child.

·        Finally, the mother returned and picked up the infant, while the stranger left.

From her observations, Ainsworth was able to identify three distinct attachment types:

·        A secure attachment

·        A insecure avoidant attachment

·        A insecure ambivalent attachment

Children who showed secure attachment would explore while playing with toys, use the mother as safe base, showed distress when mother left but was easily comforted on their return, allowed strangers to comfort them but preferred being with the mother and is based on trust and security.

Children who showed insecure avoidant attachment did not pay much attention to the mother when playing, not too distressed when she left the lab, easily comforted by the

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