Question

what is attachment and how can it be fostered? Describe how the Strange Situation procedure is used to categorize attachment(making sure to describe what it involves). Identify and describe the categories of attachment, including typical behaviour witnessed during the Strange Situation.

Answer 1

Attachment can be described as a sentimental connection between people which helps to intensify and enhance a relationship. Usually, attachment is formed between an infant and the person who provides the basic necessary requirements of the infant. The attachment between a child and its caregiver becomes evident by the distress when he/she is parted with his/her caregiver and signifies that the child feels secured and dependent in the presence of the caregiver. A mother is the first and best caregiver for an infant. Eventually, other people around the child also play the role of the caregiver with whom the child develops attachment.

Attachment can be fostered or cultivated by meeting the requirements of a child like; giving proper attention, be present around the child, providing basic necessities, love and warmth, creating a feeling of security, providing comfort in the times of distress and also form a regular routine which the child can depend upon. The level of attachment a child feels during his/her childhood towards his/her caregiver is the basis for the formation of attachment towards other people during adulthood and severely influence the relationships with others.

Mary Ainsworth came up with the Strange Situation Procedure to study the concept of 'Attachment' between an infant and its caregiver. In this study the following stages were involved: the parent and infant were directed to an observational room, the infant surveys the surroundings but the parent does not engage, a stranger enters and speaks to the parent and then the parent leaves quietly while the stranger approaches the infant, parent comes inside and pacifies the child, the parent exits again and the infant is alone, the stranger enters the room again, then the parent returns to the room and picks the child, during this time the stranger leaves the room.

The response of the infants who were the subjects of this study on being separated from the caregiver, encountering the stranger and being left alone formed the basis of categorizing attachment into four types:

a} Secure attachment: A child who has a deep attachment with its parent will be comfortable and secured in its parent's presence and will not be threatened by the stranger when the parent is present. But when the parent leaves and the child is left with the stranger he/she will be become perturbed. When the parent returns back, the child will become happy and relaxed to see the parent. This shows that the child who is attached to the parent or caregiver feels composed and protected when the parent or caregiver is around.

b} Insecure: Anxious and Avoidant Attachment: A child who does not have an intense attachment to the parent or caregiver will not exhibit any sign of disturbance when the parent goes away from him/her and also does not show any relief or happiness seeing the parent return back. Inadequate care, fear of rebuking or not fulfilling the primary requirements of the child by the parent or caregiver will result in this form of reaction.

c} Insecure: Anxious-Ambivalent or Resistant Attachment: A child who is not comfortable or feels insecure in the company of strangers even in the presence of its parent and becomes very disturbed when parted with the parent. Even when the parent returns back, the child cannot be appeased or made to feel relaxed. This type of child either shows excessive anger towards the parent for leaving it or maintains a passive demeanor. Usually, the children who face abuse display such kind of behavior.

d} Disorganized and Disoriented Attachment: A child who exhibits tense or strange movements like crouching, placing both the hands at the back of the neck or angling the head to one side is experiencing disorientation after parting from its parent and these peculiar body movements are the harbinger of crying. In this type of attachment, an infant is confused as the source of attachment that is the caregiver, instills fear or distress in the infant and therefore the infant is not able to form an appropriate reaction when parted or united with the caregiver.