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Types of Attachment Strange Situation Mary Ainsworth - Coggle Diagram

- - - - outcome predicts number of aspects of baby's later development
        
        large body of research shown baby & toddlers assessed in type b (secure) tend to have better outcomes both in later child/adulthood
        
        childhood: includes better achievement in school & less involvement in bullying
        
        securely attached babies tend to go on to have better mental health in adult hood
        
        suggests that strange situation measures something real & meaningful in a baby's development
    - - strange situation clearly measures something important that is associated with later development
        
        however - not all psychologists believe this something is attached
        
        e.g. Kagan (1982) suggested genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour in strange situation & later development
        
        means strange situation may not accurately measure attachment
  - - - good inter-rater reliability (agreement between different observers)
        
        Bick et al (2012) tested inter-rater reliability for strange situation for a team of trained observers
        
        found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
        
        this high level of reliability may be because the procedures takes place under controlled conditions & because behaviours (e.g proximity seeking & stranger anxiety) involve large movements & are therefore easy to observe
        
        e.g. anxious babies cry & crawl away from strangers
        
        means we can be confident that attachment type as assessed by strange situation doesn't depend on subjective judgements
  - - - may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts
        
        strange situation developed in Britain & US
        
        may be culture bound
        
        1 reason = babies have different experiences in different cultures & these may affect response to strange situation
        
        Takahash (1990) suggests that anxiety response in Japanese babies was not due to high rates of attachment insecurity but to the unusual nature of experience in Japan where mother-baby separation is very rare
        
        means it's very difficult to know what the strange situation is measuring when used outside Europe & US