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Ainsowrth’s Strange Situation

Ainsowrth’s Strange Situation

Technique involving a controlled observation to test a child’s attachment patterns, assess behaviour of infants 12-18 months, assessed in terms of: behaviour towards mother, towards stranger, separation anxiety and reunion behaviour.

Animal Studies

Have been carried out to help develop an understanding of the processes involved in human attachment e.g. Konrad - imprinting geese, Harlow - rhesus monkeys

Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation (MDH)

Proposes that separation from the mother figure in early childhood has serious consequences for emotional and physical development.

Caregiver-Infant Interactions

Behaviours shown between a caregiver (parent) and a child that help attachments to develop and be maintained.

Critical Period

Suggested by Bowlby that if a child doesn’t form an attachment before 2 and a half years of age, then attachment would never occur. Later changed to the Sensitive Period as it can take up to 5 years.

Cultural Variations

Differences in attachment patterns between infants and caregivers in different culture, proportions of each attachment type deduced by the Strange Situation across cultures was examined in a meta-analysis by van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg.

Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment

An evolutionary explanation, attachment is an innate mechanism that increases the survival chances of the infant by ensuring they remain close to the caregiver.

Learning Theory of Attachment

A behaviourist explanation that suggests attachments develop through classical and operant condition that occurs during feeding (known as Cupboard Love) as the pleasure from nourishment becomes associated with the caregiver.

Harlow

Conducted research into attachment using rhesus monkey, removing infant monkey from their mother and providing wire or cloth surrogates, demonstrates the effects of maternal deprivation and the important of contact comfort over nourishment, goes against learning theory.

Influence of Early Attachment

According to Bowlby, early attachment influences the ability to form relationships later in adulthood, suggesting the internal working model formed by a child becomes a template for future relationships and predicts the continuity between early caregiver relationships and later adult relationships.

Insecure-Avoidant

Type A, where the infant is willing to explore but doesn’t seek proximity to caregiver, show low separation anxiety and stranger anxiety and do not make contact when reunited, 21% occurrence.

Insecure-Resistant

Type C, not willing to explore and seeks greater proximity to caregiver, show both separation and stranger anxiety and seek comfort when reunited but often reject the caregiver, 13% occurrence.

Institutionalisation

Refers to the effects of growing up in an orphanage or children’s home, children who are raised in these institutions often suffer from a lack of emotional care meaning children are unable to form attachments.

Interactional Synchrony

Where an infant mirrors the actions of another person e.g. facial expressions and body movements, moving in tune with the rhythm of their carer.

Internal Working Model

Theory by Bowlby where we have a mental representation of our relationship with our caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships, allowing individuals to predict, control and manipulate their environment.

Lorenz

Research into imprinting in goslings, offspring follow the first large moving object they see, allowed the goslings to imprinting on hi m which resulted in them following him around.

Multiple Attachments

Attachments for more than one person, supported by research where babies form multiple attachments once they have formed a specific attachment to their main caregiver.

Reciprocity

Where an infant responds to the actions of another person, the actions of the caregiver elicits a response in the infant.

Romanian Orphan Studies

Investigate the effects of institutionalisation by Rutter et al, examining 165 Romanian orphans adopted by British families and compared their development to a control group of 52 British adopted children.

Secure

Type B, willing to explore, seeks proximity (safe-base behaviour), show moderate separation and stranger anxiety, require contact when reunited, 65% occurrence.

Stages of Attachment

Identified by Shaffer and Emerson

Asocial - first few weeks

Indiscriminate - 6 weeks - 7 months

Specific - 7-9 months

Multiple - 10 months onwards

Role of the Father

Research has shown the importance of the father in infant development but there is differences in the role they play, some suggest their role is to do with play and stimulation whilst others suggest they are suitable caregivers.

van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)

Meta-analysis of cultural variations in attachment, compared rates of types of attachment in 32 studies across 8 countries, Germany had most insecure-avoidance whereas Japan and Israel had the most insecure-resistant.