1. Attachment
Ms. Carmelitano

2. 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

3. 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
Type B – securely attached (70%)
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 C – ambivalent 10%):
Difficulty being soothed when she returns
Child seeks comfort but also rejects it
Mothers are inconsistent in their reactions to their children

4. Main and Solomon (1986) Propose a 4th 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

5. 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

6. Cross-Cultural Research on Attachment
Bowlby and Ainsworth do not designate one type as being “normative”
according to the 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

7. 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

8. 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)

9. 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)

10. 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

11. Hazan and Shaver Method:
Self selected sample of 620 people age 14-82, average age being 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)

12. 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.

13. Online Version
attachment-quiz.htm