Quick Quiz: Attachment Theory Fill-in-the-Blank

Here's the third in a series of fill-in-the-blank quick quizzes to help you prepare for the social work licensing exam. All text is taken from Wikipedia's psych pages, then redacted just so to present you with something to solve. Have at it!

In attachment theory...

1. A toddler who is ________________ to his or her parent (or other familiar caregiver) will explore freely while the caregiver is present, typically engages with strangers, is often visibly upset when the caregiver departs, and is generally happy to see the caregiver return.

2. A child with an _________________ pattern of attachment will typically explore little (in the Strange Situation) and is often wary of strangers, even when the parent is present. When the mother departs, the child is often highly distressed. The child is generally ambivalent when she returns.

3. An infant with an _________________ pattern of attachment will avoid or ignore the caregiver—showing little emotion when the caregiver departs or returns. The infant will not explore very much regardless of who is there.

4. _____________, the "Father of attachment theory," believed that the tendency for primate infants to develop attachments to familiar caregivers was the result of evolutionary pressures, since attachment behavior would facilitate the infant's survival in the face of dangers such as predation or exposure to the elements.

5. The most common and empirically supported method for assessing attachment in infants (11 months–17 months) is the Strange Situation Protocol, developed by __________________ as a result of her careful in-depth observations of infants with their mothers in Baltimore, Maryland.

How'd you do?

Remember, these aren't the types of questions that appear on the ASWB exam. The actual questions tend to be vignettes. "A client presents with such and such...According to attachment theory, the BEST way to conceptualize the clients presenting problem is:" Or something along those lines. For practice questions about attachment theory--in actual exam form--try SWTP.

Check your answers by scrolling down..................




































1. Secure attachment
2. Anxious-ambivalent
3. Anxious-avoidant
4. John Bowlby
5. Mary Ainsworth