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Describe and evaluate Ainsworth's work on attachment
paragraph one
-Mary Ainsworth (1969) developed the Strange Situation as a method to assess the quality
of a child's attachment to a caregiver.
-It is a controlled observation procedure in a lab with a two-way mirror through which
psychologists can observe an infant's behaviour.
-Five categories are used to judge attachment quality:
1. Proximity seeking: well-attached infants stay close to caregiver.
2. Exploration and secure-base behaviour: good attachment makes a child confident to
explore, using the caregiver as a safety point.
3. Stranger anxiety: displayed by well-attached infants
4. Separation anxiety: displayed by well-attached infants.
5. Response to reunion with the caregiver after separation for a short period of time: well-
attached infants are enthusiastic.
-The procedure has seven 'episodes' each lasting three minutes.
Stage 1 – Mother and child enter the playroom
Stage 2 – The child is encouraged to explore
Stage 3 – Stranger enters and attempts to interact
Stage 4 – Mothers leaves while the stranger is present
Stage 5 – Mother enters and the stranger leaves
Stage 6 – Mothers leaves
Stage 7 – Stranger returns
Stage 8 – Mother returns and interacts with child
paragraph two
-Ainsworth found distinct patterns in the way infants behaved. She identified 3 main types of
attachment.
-Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A: 20-25% of British toddlers):
The child explores freely but does not seek proximity (no secure base).
Shows little/no separation and stranger anxiety.
It does not require comfort at the reunion stage.
-Secure attachment (Type B 60-75% of British toddlers):
The child is happy to explore but seeks proximity with the caregiver (secure base).
Shows moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.
Requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion.
-Insecure-resistant attachment (Type C: 3% of British toddlers):
Child explores less and seeks greater proximity.
Shows considerable stranger and separation anxiety.
Resists comfort when reunited with a caregiver.
paragraph three
-Attachment type predicts later development.
,-For example, secure babies typically have greater success at school and more lasting
romantic relationships.
-In contrast, insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes, e.g.
bullying (Kokkinos 2007) and adult mental health problems (Ward et al. 2006).
This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain future outcomes.
paragraph four (strengths)
-Different observers watching the same children generally agree on attachment type. (inter-
rater reliability)
- Bick et al. (2012) found 94% agreement in one team.
-This may be because the Strange Situation takes place under controlled conditions and
because the behavioural categories are easy to observe.
-So we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the Strange
Situation does not just depend on who is observing them
-Waters (1978) assessed 50 infants at 12 and at 18 months of age using the SS procedure.
Waters found clear evidence for stable individual differences using Ainsworth’s behaviour
category data. The greatest consistency was seen in reunion behaviours after brief
separations. 48 of the 50 infants observed were independently rated as being classified in
the same category at 18 months.
paragraph five (weakness)
-The strange situation procedure is conducted in a laboratory and follows a script that may
be unlike real life separations. For example, Brofenbenner (1979) found infants were more
distressed when separated from parents in the laboratory situation than at home due to the
unfamiliar environment. As such, findings from these studies may lack ecological validity
when applied to real-life attachments.
-the SS has been labelled unethical, as it deliberately stresses infants to see their reactions.
However, it can be seen as justifiable, as the stress cause is no greater than that of
everyday experiences like being left with an unfamiliar babysitter.
, Outline and evaluate research into the effects of institutionalisation
paragraph one
-Institutionalisation concerns the effects upon attachments of care provided by orphanages
and residential children's homes. Bowlby's MDH was largely based upon studies conducted
in the 1930s and 1940s of children raised in such institutions.
-Institutional care involves distinctive patterns of attachment behaviour and so can be
regarded as a phenomenon in its own right; it often involves a mix of privation and
deprivation effects.
-Institutionalised children often show a distinctive attachment behaviour called disinhibited
attachment, characterised by clingy, attention-seeking behaviour and indiscriminate
sociability to adults
paragraph two
-To assess the long-term effects of early institutionalisation, Rutter conducted a study
involving 165 Romanian orphans who were adopted in Britain and 52 British children who
were adopted around the same time and acted as a control group.
-The Romanian orphans displayed numerous deficits at the initial assessment, such as
undernourishment, underweight, and signs of mental retardation, while the control group did
not exhibit these deficits.
-the younger the age of the Romanian children at the time of adoption, the higher their IQ
scores tended to be.
-the likelihood of developing attachment disorders varied between the two groups, with the
control group being less likely to display such disorders.
-Romanian orphans who were adopted after six months were more likely to exhibit a
"disinhibited attachment," characterised by attention-seeking behaviour, clinginess, and
inappropriate familiarity towards strangers.
-Rutter concluded that institutionalisation has negative effects on children's physical,
cognitive, and emotional development.
-early sensitive and nurturing care can help overcome these effects.
paragraph three
-Chunagi conducted a study to examine the neurological effects of institutionalisation.
-He administered PET scans to 10 Romanian orphans who had been adopted and
compared them to 17 "normal" adults and 7 children.
-The assessments revealed that the Romanian orphans displayed mild neurocognitive
impairments, impulsivity, attention deficits, and social deficits.
- the PET scans showed decreased activity in brain areas such as the prefrontal cortex,
hippocampus, and amygdala.
-Based on these findings, Chunagi concluded that the stress caused by early deprivation can
lead to dysfunction in these critical brain regions, which may ultimately contribute to long-
term cognitive and behavioural problems.
paragraph four (evaluation)
-Children have only been assessed up to the age of 4 years, so subsequent follow-ups will
be required to assess the long-term effects of institutionalisation and the effects of
subsequent enriching environments.
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