Summary Of Ainsworth's Strange Situation

Becker’s Fiji girls: (1995) After television was introduced – and consequently Western beauty ideals – to adolescent girls in Fiji, they began developing eating disorders in an attempt to lose weight.

Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory: (1957) If our beliefs are at odds with what is occurring in the world, we will subsequently change our beliefs to retain cognitive consistency. Joined the Seekers cult.

Lewin’s leadership styles: (1939) The three styles of leadership are democratic, autocratic, and laissez faire. The democratic style was proven to be most effective.

Mary Ainsworth: Methods: Ainsworth performed a longitudinal study in Uganda. She used home visits, naturalistic observations, and interviews with the mothers of the
children, using an interpreter. The babies ranged from 15 weeks to two years old when the study began, and were observed every two weeks for nine months in a natural environment (the family living room). A researcher observes a child's reactions when a mother briefly leaves her child alone in an unfamiliar room. The way the child behaves during the separation and upon the mother's return can reveal important information about attachment. Four categories of behaviors were measured and observed: (1) separation anxiety: the unease the infant showed when left by the caregiver, (2) the infant’s willingness to explore, (3) stranger anxiety: the infant’s response to the presence of a stranger, and (4) reunion behavior: the way the caregiver was greeted on return. The observer noted the behavior displayed and scored the behavior for intensity on a scale of 1 to 7.

Describe the Work of Bowlby Bowlby was one of the most influential theorists in the area of children's emotional and social development
Define "Attachment" Attachment is the emotional bond between child and caregiver. It can be observed from around 7 months of age, and manifests itself as separation anxiety in the child when the caregiver is not present. A key element in attachment is parent sensitivity
Name the 3 Main Theories of Attachment The Strange Situation Paradigm (Ainsworth) which showed the different categories of attachment. Bowlby's Internal Working Model, which showed how early attachment patterns resulted in internal schemas about relationships. Continuity Patterns in Romantic Love (Hazan and Shaver), which showed childhood patterns were repeated in adult romantic relationships, and Social and Cultural Factors in Attachment (Van Ijzendorn and Kroonenberg, Miyake,et al, which showed attachment patterns were constant cross-culturally, but which were most prevalent varied by cultural parenting styles.
Describe Ainsworth's "Strange Situation Paradigm" An experiment that measured the anxiety and behavior between infant and mother through a combinations of separations and reunions.
Also featured in the "Strange Situation" was the introduction of a stranger, someone not known to the cild, in order to observe the child's reaction
Name the 3 Categories of Attachment discovered by Ainsworth. Secure Attachment (type B): infant is distressed when mother leaves, seeks contact upon her return. Ambivalent Attachment (type C): infant is distress when mother leaves, quickly seeks contact upon return, but then rejects mother Avoidant Attachment (type A): infant show no distress when mother leaves, avoids contact upon return, and is not afraid of the stranger. Typical of babies of unresponsive mothers.
Describe the 4th Attachment Category added by Main and Solomon (1990) Insecure/Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment (type D): child shows no reaction to mother leaving or returning. Associated with abused
children.
Research Evidence for Attachment Theory: Ainsworth (1969) Ganda Project Observed 28 Ugandan mothers interacting with their child through naturalistic observations in the home. Measured mother's sensitivity to infants signals and needs, identified as 2 key factors in attachment. Replicated in US in 1971 with 26 families
Research Evidence for Attachment Theory: Ainsworth (1978) Strange Situation Paradigm By observing mothers and children in separation and reunion conditions, in the presence of stranger or not, Ainsworth identified 3 forms of attachment: Secure (70% of US infants), Ambivalent (10%), and Avoidant (20%)
Research Evidence for Attachment Theory: Main and Solomon (1990) Added a fourth category:Insecure/Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment (type D)
Research Evidence for Attachment Theory: Campos et al.
(1983) Review US infant attachment studies and revised the distributions: Secure (62%) vs. 70%), Ambivalent (15% vs 10%), and Avoidant (15% vs 20%). Not as many Secure, more ambivalent, more avoidant.
What is the Theory Behind Bowlby's Attachment and Internal Working Model Bowlby theorized that early attachment patterns formed with parents carry over to adult relationships because the experience forms a mental schema or representation of the self, the attachment figure, and how others will react
Explain Bowlby's Internal Working Model A child's experience with an attachment figure creates expectations, which in turn form mental schemas, which persist relatively unchanged throughout life. If a secure attachment is formed the child will feel worthy of love and attention. This internal model tends to be reproduced in adult relationships.
Explain Bowlby's Theory of Attachment History The internal working model reflects an individual's experiences about the accessibility of attachment figure, different experiences may explain different attachment patterns, as well as attachment
disorders
What does the study of Social and Cultural Factors tell us about Attachment? Cross cultural studies tend to confirm the four attachment categories, but also show different distributions, based on differing cultural practices.
Research Evidence for Social and Cultural Differences in Attachment: Van Ijzendorn and Kroonenberg (1988) Looked at 32 studies from 8 countries, covering 2,000 infants. They found, for example, that Japan showed more ambivalent attachment than the West, but no avoidant attachment. Secure attachment was more common in the West.
Explain Continuity Attachment Patterns in Romantic Love The theory is that the patterns of attachment form in early childhood and that are translated into schemas via the inner working model repeat themselves in adult romantic relationships
Research Evidence for Continuity Attachment Theory: Hazan and Shaver (1978) Compared attachments with parents to romantic adult attachments. Assumed inner workings model, and then compared self-reported attachment patterns in childhood to those in adult romantic relationships. The percentages in each of Ainsworth's catgories were roughly the same. Further, secure lovers described their relationships as happy, trusting and friendly, Avoidant lovers displayed fear of intimacy, emotional highs and lows, as well as jealousy. Abivalent attachment characterized romantic love as obsessive, filled with highs and lows, extreme sexual attraction, and jealousy
Evaluation of Hazan and Shaver (1978) Supported idea that attachment styles could be found in adult romantic love. Some concern that sample was self-selected and disproportionately female. Forced choices may have skewed the data. However, a followup by Hazan and Shaver ten years later replicated the results.
Research Evidence for Social and Cultural Differences in Attachment: Miyake et al. (1985) Explained attachment differences between US and Japan. Japanese mothers put greater emphasis on close relationships, but urge children to develop their own identity and solve problems with a wider social group. US children are more independent, but rely on adults to solve problems. US shows more avoidant attachment, a consequence of independence, while Japanese children show more secure attachment and are more sensitive to group needs as adults.