Attachment behavior

a.       Piaget describes two ways that we learn: through assimilation and accommodation. Give an example of each process. For instance, think about a new piece of information that you have learned.

Did you use assimilation or accommodation to process this information? Or both?

b.      Present Kohlberg’s Heinz dilemma to several people. How did they respond to the dilemma?

In their responses, could you see evidence of the three broad stages of Kohlberg’s moral reasoning— preconventional, conventional, and postconventional?

The research reviewed in this chapter shows the difficulty of measuring such a complex phenomenon as attachment. The Strange Situation, the most widely used measure of attachment, has been criticized as being too “artificial.” Some researchers have advocated for methods that may be more contextually valid, such as observing preschoolers’ separation and reunion behaviors towards their parents when they are dropped off and picked up from preschool.

Can you think of other ways to observe attachment behavior that may be more “natural”?