Chapter 9: Quiz
1. The Strange Situation, developed by Mary Ainsworth, measures attachment by observing:
- A) Adults describing their childhood memories
- B) An infant's behavior during separation from and reunion with their caregiver
- C) How well couples communicate during a disagreement
- D) Brain activity during social interaction
Answer: B. The Strange Situation observes infant behavior (distress at separation, behavior at reunion) to classify attachment patterns. It uses behavioral observation, not self-report.
2. Approximately what percentage of infants are classified as securely attached?
- A) 25%
- B) 40%
- C) 60%
- D) 85%
Answer: C. Approximately 60% of infants are classified as securely attached, with the remainder distributed among anxious-ambivalent (~15%), avoidant (~25%), and disorganized (variable).
3. The key difference between how research measures infant attachment and how social media measures adult attachment is:
- A) Research uses brain scans; social media uses quizzes
- B) Research uses behavioral observation; social media uses self-report quizzes that are generally not validated instruments
- C) There is no difference — both use the same methods
- D) Research measures are less reliable than social media quizzes
Answer: B. Ainsworth's Strange Situation uses direct behavioral observation. Popular online quizzes use self-report, which is subject to social desirability bias, limited self-insight, and the Barnum effect.
4. Research on adult attachment stability shows that:
- A) Attachment style never changes after infancy
- B) Approximately 25–30% of adults change their attachment classification over time
- C) Attachment style changes completely every few years
- D) Only therapy can change attachment style
Answer: B. Attachment patterns show moderate stability but are not fixed. Positive relationships, therapy, and personal development can shift attachment patterns. About 25–30% of adults change classification over months to years.
5. The pop culture claim that "anxious + avoidant = disaster" is:
- A) Fully supported by all relationship research
- B) Oversimplified — these pairings are common, and outcomes depend on both partners' skills and awareness, not just their attachment types
- C) Debunked — these pairings are actually the most successful
- D) Only true for married couples
Answer: B. Anxious-avoidant pairings are common (possibly more common than chance). The outcome depends on communication skills, self-awareness, willingness to grow, and many other factors — not just the attachment combination.
6. Twin studies suggest the heritability of attachment is approximately:
- A) 0% (entirely environmental)
- B) 25–40%
- C) 80–90%
- D) 100%
Answer: B. Attachment has a modest heritable component (estimated 25–40%), meaning it is not purely a product of parenting — genetic factors also play a role.
7. Bowlby's concept of "internal working models" refers to:
- A) Computer simulations of relationship behavior
- B) Mental representations of what to expect from relationships, formed through caregiver interactions
- C) Personality types that determine relationship outcomes
- D) Therapeutic techniques for repairing insecure attachment
Answer: B. Internal working models are mental schemas about relationships — expectations about whether others are reliable and whether the self is worthy of care — developed through early caregiving experiences.
8. The chapter's main argument about attachment theory is:
- A) Attachment theory is completely debunked
- B) The infant research is solid, but the popular version oversimplifies adult attachment into fixed types, overstates childhood determinism, and ignores other relationship factors
- C) Social media attachment content is more accurate than the research
- D) Attachment has no relevance to adult relationships
Answer: B. The chapter validates the original infant attachment research while identifying four specific ways the popular version oversimplifies: fixed types (vs. dimensions), childhood determinism (vs. changeability), quiz-based measurement (vs. validated assessment), and single-cause explanation (vs. multiple factors).
9. An "anxious parent" reading about attachment theory should know that:
- A) Any imperfect parenting creates insecure attachment
- B) Secure attachment develops from "good enough" caregiving — consistent overall responsiveness, not perfection
- C) Working parents always create insecurely attached children
- D) Attachment is entirely determined by the first six months of life
Answer: B. Secure attachment requires "good enough" (Winnicott) caregiving — a general pattern of responsiveness. Brief separations, daycare, and working parents do not reliably predict insecure attachment.
10. The evidence-based replacement for "I'm anxious-attached and that's why my relationships fail" is:
- A) "I have no attachment pattern at all"
- B) "I tend toward higher attachment anxiety in some relationships, which makes me more sensitive to perceived rejection — a tendency shaped by multiple factors and changeable with awareness and skills"
- C) "My relationships fail because of my partner, not me"
- D) "Attachment theory is meaningless"
Answer: B. The accurate version describes a tendency (not a type), acknowledges context-dependence, identifies the mechanism (sensitivity to rejection), and notes changeability — all of which the research supports.