Attachment Ms Carmelitano Evaluation of the Strange Situation

Attachment Ms. Carmelitano

Evaluation of the Strange Situation Paradigm • Combination of experimental and clinical methods • Naturalistic Experiment • Lamb (1985) argues that the data is artificial and limited • Unethical because of stress placed on baby � However it is modeled on common every day experiences • Cross cultural ▫ Focuses on the child’s reaction to the separation during the reunion ▫ Does not take into account the meaning of the separation may differ in each culture ▫ Japanese children are rarely separated from their mothers so this is a highly unusual situation

Types of Attachment • Type A – avoidant (20%): ▫ ▫ Shows indifference when mother leaves the room avoids contact with her when she returns Not Afraid of Strangers Mothers are insensitive and uninterested in child’s play ▫ ▫ Upset when mother leaves Happy when she returns Easily comforted by mother Mothers are interested in child’s play and support play and communicate with their children • Type B – securely attached (70%) • Type C – ambivalent 10%): ▫ ▫ Upset when mother leaves Difficulty being soothed when she returns Child seeks comfort but also rejects it Mothers are inconsistent in their reactions to their children

Main and Solomon (1986) • Propose a 4 th type of attachment • Type D (insecure-disorganized/disorientated attachment) ▫ The child shows no reaction when the mother leaves or comes back ▫ Associated with childhood abuse or depressed mother

Factors of Attachment • 1. Parental sensitivity (Ainsworth) ▫ Emotional response of the mothers ▫ Sensitive mothers will have a more securely attached baby • 2. Infant Temperament (Jerome Kagan 1982) ▫ Innate differences in children’s temperaments will influence how the environment interacts with them • 3. Family circumstances ▫ Some families cannot provide necessary support for the child (abusive families) ▫ Social conditions: poverty or death

Cross-Cultural Research on Attachment • Bowlby and Ainsworth do not designate one type as being “normative” ▫ according to theory of evolution, if a culture requires a child to suppress negative emotions, infants may develop avoidant attachment to meet cultural demand ▫ This will be the normal behavior

Turnbull (1973) • Studied the Ik, a small tribe living in a remote mountain in Uganda • Found no signs of parental love ▫ Parents were unhappy at the birth of a baby ▫ No signs of tenderness and affection ▫ Children were thrown out at an early age to take care of themselves • The Ik lived in conditions that put them near starvation ▫ This interfered with social relationships, and people adopted a very selfish way of life ▫ Self-Preservation evolved as being more important that child rearing, because they were a competition for food

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) • Meta-Analysis of 32 worldwide studies on attachment ▫ 8 countries ▫ 2000 infants • Findings ▫ Differences in distribution of types A, B, C ▫ Japan: Absence of type A, but high proportion of type C ▫ Type B is the most common cross-culturally ▫ Type A is more common in Western European Countries (Individualistic) ▫ Type C is more common in Japan (collective)

Role of Attachment for the Future • Hazan and Shaver (1987) ▫ Explored Bowlby’s theory of attachment in relation to adult romantic relationships ▫ It is used to explain positive emotions (caring, intimacy, trust) and negative (fear of intimacy, jealousy, emotional inconsistency)

Hazan and Shaver • Findings related to the inner workings model ▫ A person will form meaningful relationships if they have a positive inner workings model • Devised a “love quiz” in a newspaper and asked for respondents to indicated which pattern best described their feelings about relationships • Participants read three statements and indicated which best described their attitudes

Hazan and Shaver • Method: ▫ Self selected sample of 620 people age 14 -82, average being 36 204 makes 415 females ▫ A second study sampled 108 college students ▫ Participants also had to describe parents' parenting-styles using an adjective check list ▫ Findings: � 60% showed a secure attachment (parents = available, attentive, responsive) � 20% showed anxious-avoidant attachment (parents = unresponsive, rejecting, inattentive) � 20% showed anxious - ambivalent attachment (parents = anxious, sometimes responsive, generally out of touch with their needs)

The “Love Quiz” questions • A. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others, I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, other want met o be more intimate than I feel comfortable being. • B. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me • C. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would life. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or won’t stay with me. I want to get very close to my partner and this sometimes scares people away.

Online Version • http: //psychology. about. com/library/quiz/blattachment-quiz. htm