Types of Attachment (Ao1) STARTER For homework you were asked to create an action plan on your essay feedback Compare this with your partner. What were your strengths? What were your weaknesses? THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SUBMITTED THEIR 12 MARK ESSAY MUST BY 4PM THIS EVENING. 10 mins Learning Objectives ALL will know the different types of attachment MOST will understand the steps of the strange situation Most will know the behaviours observed for each type of attachment. Track on board.

Mary Ainsworth A Strange Situation

Who? What? Where? When? In 1970 in America, Ainsworth and Bell did a controlled observation of children’s attachment behaviour using the ‘Strange Situation Classification’ (SSC).

Attachment Styles Attachment is not an ‘all or nothing’ process There may be variations between children in the attachments they form.

Controlled Observation Naturalistic Observation

MUM The participants Stranger

Ainsworth and Bell - Study Observational study – to see the different attachment styles. The observations made allowed Ainsworth to judge the child’s reaction to the following three variables: 3 variables Separation anxiety: how the child reacts when mother leaves Stranger anxiety: how the child reacts to being alone with a stranger Reunion behaviour: how the child behaves when mum returns

Ainsworth and Bell 1971 Controlled observation of children’s attachment behaviour using the ‘Strange Situation Classification’ (SSC): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTsewNrHUHU The strange situation Can you identify the stages of the observations?

Ainsworth and Bell 1971 1.Parent (or caregiver) enters room with child, child explores for 3 minutes 2.A Stranger enters and joins the parent and infant, talks to mother 3.Parent leaves the infant with the stranger 4. Parent returns and the stranger leaves. Parent settles the infant Parent leaves again 5. Stranger returns 6.Parent returns and stranger leaves.

Findings Three patterns of attachment: Secure (70% of sample) Insecure – avoidant (20%) Insecure – resistant (10%) Ainsworth suggested that attachment type was determined by primary carer's (mother’s) behaviour

Secure video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH1m_ZMO7GU

Securely attached Secure attachment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH1m_ZMO7GU Securely attached Secure attachment Upset/subdued when mother left Positive/happy when she returned Avoidant of stranger but friendly when mother present Associated with sensitive & responsive primary care

Insecure avoidant video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH1m_ZMO7GU

Insecure Avoidant Insecure –avoidant Unconcerned by mother’s absence Unresponsive when she returned Strongly avoidant of mother and stranger Associated with unresponsive primary care

HW Read up on the Ainsworth Experiment and go over the things we have covered in the lesson. Use the following sections in your work. Hypothesis Method Results and conclusions

Insecure resistant video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH1m_ZMO7GU

Insecure - Resistant Insecure – resistant Intensely distressed when mother left Apparent fear of stranger Clinginess mixed with rejection on return Associated with inconsistent primary care

In threes produce a role play – displaying one of the attachment types MUM In threes produce a role play – displaying one of the attachment types Stranger

Likely exam questions How did Ainsworth conduct the strange situation observation? (4) Outline how a Insecure-avoidant infant reacts in the strange situation experiment? (4)

Exam question Compare the behaviour of an Insecure resistant child and Insecure avoidant child (6 marks) Outline how a secure infant reacts in the strange situation experiment? (4 marks)

Plenary Separation Anxiety Stranger Anxiety Reunion Behaviour Secure Sad/upset Weary of stranger when PCG not present Happy and instantly soothed Insecure Avoidant Unconcerned/ not bothered Extremely avoidant Unresponsive/ floppy Insecure resistant Intensely distressed Fearful Clinginess mixed with rejection

Plenary Separation Anxiety Stranger Anxiety Reunion Behaviour Secure Sad/upset Weary of stranger when PCG not present Happy and instantly soothed Insecure Avoidant Unconcerned/ not bothered Extremely avoidant Unresponsive/ floppy Insecure resistant Intensely distressed Fearful Clinginess mixed with rejection

Securely attached Separation anxiety- upset Stranger anxiety- avoidant, but with when mum there friendly Reunion behaviour- happy/positive Insecure-avoidant Separation anxiety- unconcerned Stranger anxiety- strongly avoidant Reunion behaviour- unresponsive Insecure-resistant Separation anxiety- intensely distressed Stranger anxiety- fearful Reunion behaviour- clinginess mixed with rejection

Start here Tuesday

Questions from last lesson What was the name of the controlled observation carried out by Mary Ainsworth? A strange situation What were the three variables used to judge the Childs reaction? Separation anxiety- Stranger anxiety- Reunion behaviour- Write down as much of the procedure that you can remember Parent enters the room with child- explores for 3 mins Stranger enters joins parent and infant Parent LEAVES the infant with stranger Parent returns and stranger leaves. Parents settles infant then leaves AGAIN Stranger ENTERS Parent enters and stranger leaves- reunion where attachment style is established child’s reaction when mother leaves child’s reaction to being alone with stranger child’s behaviour when mother renters room

Exam technique How has research investigated attachment styles Procedure and variables What has research shown that has investigated attachment styles? Findings (styles) and conclusions (PCG characteristics)

Separation Anxiety Stranger Anxiety Reunion Behaviour PCG characteristics Secure Sad/upset Weary of stranger when PCG not present Happy and instantly soothed Sensitive Insecure Avoidant Unconcerned/ not bothered Extremely avoidant Unresponsive/ floppy Unresponsive Insecure resistant Intensely distressed Fearful Clinginess mixed with rejection Inconsistent

Plenary Separation Anxiety Stranger Anxiety Reunion Behaviour Secure Sad/upset Weary of stranger when PCG not present Happy and instantly soothed Insecure Avoidant Unconcerned/ not bothered Extremely avoidant Unresponsive/ floppy Insecure resistant Intensely distressed Fearful Clinginess mixed with rejection

Securely attached Separation anxiety- upset Stranger anxiety- avoidant, but with when mum there friendly Reunion behaviour- happy/positive Insecure-avoidant Separation anxiety- unconcerned Stranger anxiety- strongly avoidant Reunion behaviour- unresponsive Insecure-resistant Separation anxiety- intensely distressed Stranger anxiety- fearful Reunion behaviour- clinginess mixed with rejection

Likely exam questions How did Ainsworth conduct the strange situation observation? (4) Outline how a Insecure-avoidant infant reacts in the strange situation experiment? (4)

Evaluation Sample Bias – Uses middle class American infants – cant generalise across classes or cultures.

Cultural bias http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5aPU7KWqJw Kibbutz Cultural relativism The theory can not then be used/generalised in other cultures Imposed etic Tools created (SS) Imposed on non western cultures

What number comes next in the sequence, one, two, three, __________? How many lunar months are in a year? As wallaby is to animal so cigarette is to __________ Three of the following items may be classified with salt-water crocodile. Which are they? marine turtle brolga frilled lizard black snake (circle your answers) Which items may be classified with sugar? honey witchetty grub flour water-lillies (circle your answers) We eat food and we __________ water.

The Original Australian Test of Intelligence These items relate to the culture of the Edward River Community in Far North Queensland What number comes next in the sequence, one, two, three, __________? How many lunar months are in a year? As wallaby is to animal so cigarette is to __________ Three of the following items may be classified with salt-water crocodile. Which are they? marine turtle brolga frilled lizard black snake (circle your answers) 7. Which items may be classified with sugar? honey witchetty grub flour water-lillies (circle your answers)

Answers One, two, three, many....the kuuk thaayorre system of counting only goes to three...thana, kuthir, pinalam, mong, mong, mong, etc. The word mong is best translated as "many" since it can mean any number between 4 and 9 or 10 after which yuur mong (many figures) would be more appropriate. Those who say thirteen are right in European terms but irrelevant in Edward River terms. The speakers of kuuk thaayorre clearly recognise lunar menstruation and possess a notion of the lunar month as calculated as the time between one phase of the moon and the next appearance of that particular phase. However, apart from having no specific word to designate thirteen and thirteen only - yurr mong or "very many", is the right answer - the annual cycle is crouched in terms of environmental rhythms rather than in terms of fixed, invariant divisions of time. The "year" then is the time between the onset of one wet season and the onset of the next wet season - and wet seasons may be early or late, so who can be precise?

Answers The right answer is "tree". This stems from the kuuk thaayorre speakers early experience with tobacco which was "stick" tobacco, hence it is classified with tree. Crocodiles, turtles, birds and frill necked lizards are all classified as minh (which broadly might be translated as animals). Snakes along with eels are classified as yak which may be broadly translated as snake-like creatures. All the items are classified with sugar as belong to the class of objects known as may. Broadly translated, may means vegetable food. Even witchetty grubs that are found in the roots of trees fall under this rubric - so does honey which is also associated with trees and hence fruit. The kuuk thaayorre language had no problem fitting flour into the may category since it obviously resembled some of their own processed vegetable foods (e.g., yams like Dioscoria sativa elongata). The word may can also mean sweet and hence sugar, which of course does not resemble anything in their traditional culinary. "Eat" is the right word - well sort of, anyway. Where we make a distinction between "eating" and "drinking", kuuk thaayorre does not and they use the same verb to describe both functions and why not?

Imposed Etic – this is culture bias the SS was designed for the western world. West vs. East when we create a theory, test or construct in one culture (usually Western) and impose it on the rest of the world! 

Finally Ainsworth is criticised for over-simplification in her belief that children can be put into 3 categories.   Other studies have suggested that there are big individual differences between children within in attachment.

Evaluation Consistency Truth/accuracy Subsequent studies that have used the 'Strange Situation' have found it to be reliable and valid.  ·    refers to whether you can produce the same results if tested again.  ·    refers to the extent to which the 'Strange Situation' actually measures what it is supposed to measure Consistency Reliability Truth/accuracy Validity

This is called test-retest reliability and checks for Main et al study Reliability of the 'Strange Situation' was demonstrated by Main et al. (1985): They tested babies at 18 months and then retested them at 6 years of age.    This is called test-retest reliability and checks for   They found that 100% of the secure babies were still classified as secure and 75% of the avoidant babies were still under the same classification consistency over time.

Ainsworth herself also tested inter-rater reliability (the extent to which different observers score a behaviour in a similar way).  This was also found to be very high.

Ainsworth herself also tested inter-rater reliability (the extent to which different observers score a behaviour in a similar way).  This was also found to be very high. Secure Insecure- avoidant Insecure- resistant Secure Insecure- avoidant Insecure- resistant

Questions from the lesson What is a problem with the sample in the SS and why? Bias sample as only contained white middle class American infants- can’t generalise the results across cultures/ classes What culture bias is there and why? Imposed etic as the “tools” (the SS) was designed to measure attachments in America so it should not be imposed on Non-Western cultures as it may not be suitable there. Define the term reliability Refers to whether you can produce the SAME/CONSISTENT results if tested again Define the term validity The extent to which the study measures what it actually set out to measure What two types of reliability does the strange situation observation have? Test retest and inter-rater reliability

Validity Validity of the 'Strange Situation.'  Some argue the strange situation only measures the relationship between the child and one other person (usually the mother) AT THAT TIME AND PLACE so rather than measuring attachment type it is simple measuring relationship. IN ISOLATION  Lamb claims the SS assesses only attachment to the person is with at the time. What about other attachments??? (father) and multiple attachments- Shaffer and Emerson What about these attachments??

Validity Mary Ainsworth only used 100 ptts in her original study. Therefore the study lacks population validity, as this small sample size, means its very difficult to generalise the results to the rest of the target population

Validity Hazan and Shaver (1987) found support for its validity. Hazan and Shaver (1987) – ‘love quiz’ in newspaper collecting information about individuals early attachment experiences and their current romantic experiences. securely attached infants had happy and long lasting relationships in later life. Insecurely attached infants found relationships hard to form and many were divorced

Why has the strange situation been criticised to lack validity Why has the strange situation been criticised to lack validity? (4 marks) It has been argued by Lamb that the Strange Situation (SS) only measures the relationship between the child and mother at that specific time and place, so rather than measuring the overall and actual attachment type it is simply measuring that one relationship in isolation, ignoring the father. Also the Strange Situation only used 100 ptts in the original study. Therefore the study lacks population validity, as this small sample size, means its very difficult to generalise the results to the rest of the target population

Explain why research supports the reliability of the strange situation Explain why research supports the reliability of the strange situation? (4 marks)

Ainsworth investigated attachment behaviour using a controlled observation called the strange situation. This involved testing levels of separation and stranger anxiety. However the procedure has been accused of lacking validity What is meant by reliability (2) Reliability refers to the consistency of results. If you carry out the same study again you should get the same results What is meant by validity (2) Validity refers to the accuracy of the results. Is the study measuring what it says its measuring Explain how the Strange situation may be lacking in Validity (4) The strange situation has been criticised for lacking validity as some argue that it only measures the relationship between the child and one other person. So instead of measuring attachment type it is simply measuring that one relationship. Lamb criticises the strange situation suggesting that it assesses attachment to that person at that time, so only measuring attachments with the mother and disregarding other attachments like the father

Describe and evaluate the strange situation to attachment (12 ) A01- Procedure 3 variables Findings A02 x4 points- Sample bias culture-imposed etic Oversimplified reliability