Ainsworth did a controlled observation with 100 mc American infants aged between 12-18 months. Tested separation anxiety, reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety, exploration behaviour in 8 episodes lasting 3secs..
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What were some of the main situations that Ainsworth used?
Mother would leave the bay with the stranger then the mother returns and then the baby is left alone. Stranger then approaches with a toy and then mother enters and stranger leaves.
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Describe the findings and characteristics of an insecure avoidant attachment.
15% were insecure. No or few signs of distress when mum leaves, baby ignores or avoids caregiver upon return. Can be easily comforted by the stranger. Caregivers are emotionally detached. Babies see being sad as a cause of rejection.
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Describe the findings and characteristics of a secure attachment.
70% were secure. Distressed when mother leaves. Easily comforted upon return of mother. Cannot be comforted by stranger when mother leaves. Keen to explore. Parents are emotionally sensitive. Learn to trust people to help them with emotions.
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Describe the findings and characteristics of an insecure resistant attachment.
15% were resistant. Distressed when mother leaves. Not be comforted when mother returns. Resists strangers efforts to make contact. Not keen to explore. Caregivers are unpredictable. Baby doesn't know what to expect and becomes clingy.
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What is one support of the Strange Situation?
(reliability)
Different observers agree on how to classify attachments due to controlled conditions like same stranger being used. Bick et al found a 94% agreement rate. Confident that the attachment found wasn't just down to the observer who watched them.
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What is one support of the Strange Situation?
(predictive validity)
Attachment types can be strongly predictive of later development. Kokkinos says resistant attachments are most commonly associated with bullying and Ward et al says they can have mental health problems too.
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What is one weakness of the Strange Situation?
(culture differences)
It is ethnocentric as it judges babies by American standards as "avoidant" in America could be "independent" in Germany and so, are secure. Takahashi concluded that the method doesn't work in Japan as it classifies most children as resistant.
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What is one weakness of the Strange Situation?
(extra type of attachment)
Main and Solomon found a small minority of infants didn't fit into the categories. They added the disorganised attachment. This was for inconsistent behaviours like only crying one time when mother returns. Procedure can't classify all babies accurately.
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
What were some of the main situations that Ainsworth used?
Back
Mother would leave the bay with the stranger then the mother returns and then the baby is left alone. Stranger then approaches with a toy and then mother enters and stranger leaves.
Card 3
Front
Describe the findings and characteristics of an insecure avoidant attachment.
Back
Card 4
Front
Describe the findings and characteristics of a secure attachment.
Back
Card 5
Front
Describe the findings and characteristics of an insecure resistant attachment.
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