Lecture Notes on Attachment Styles and Mary Ainsworth's Research

Introduction

• Variations in how children interact with mothers.
• Mary Ainsworth's work on attachment styles.
• Impact of Ainsworth's research globally.

Attachment Styles

• Ainsworth's Types of Attachment
  • Insecure Avoidant (Type A):
    • Detached from mothers; explore freely.
    • Low stranger anxiety; indifferent to separation/return.
    • Associated with mothers showing less responsiveness.
  • Secure (Type B):
    • Explore surroundings, use mother as a secure base.
    • Moderate stranger anxiety; distressed by separation, easily comforted upon return.
    • Associated with sensitive and consistent caregiving.
  • Insecure Resistant (Type C):
    • Less confident in exploring; clingy.
    • High anxiety to strangers and separation; ambivalent upon reunion.
    • Tied to inconsistent caregiving.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation

• Designed to assess infant-mother attachment.
• Stages:
  1. Infant and mother enter room; infant explores.
  2. Stranger enters, interacts with mother and infant.
  3. Mother leaves, infant with stranger.
  4. Mother returns, stranger leaves.
  5. Mother leaves, infant alone.
  6. Stranger returns.
  7. Mother returns for reunion.
• Focus on infant's reactions to separation and reunion.

Findings from the Strange Situation

• Proportions of Attachment Types:
  • Secure (Type B) was most common (66%).
  • Insecure Avoidant (Type A) (22%).
  • Insecure Resistant (Type C) (12%).
• Secure attachment linked to positive outcomes in social, emotional, and academic areas.

Evaluation of the Strange Situation

• Strengths:
  • Standardized and replicable study.
  • Predictive validity for future outcomes.
• Criticisms:
  • Possible cultural bias (developed in American context).
  • Controlled setting may not reflect real-life interactions.
  • Alternative explanations (biological temperament) challenge findings.

Cultural Variations in Attachment

• Meta-Analysis by Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg:
  • Secure attachment most prevalent worldwide.
  • Avoidant more common in Western cultures; resistant more in collectivist cultures.
  • Variability within countries often greater than between them.
• Cultural Impact:
  • Differences attributed to cultural parenting practices.
  • Potential for cultural bias in applying findings globally.

Recent Developments

• Temporal Changes:
  • Changes in family dynamics may affect attachment styles.
  • Modern studies show shifts in attachment proportions.

Conclusion

• Ainsworth's research has greatly influenced understanding of attachment.
• Secure attachment generally preferred but cultural differences are significant.
• Importance of considering cultural context in attachment research.

Additional Resources

• Psych Boost flashcard app and videos for further study.
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