Attachment and Joint Problem-Solving Experiences During the Preschool Period

This study examined how attachment quality, measured during the preschool period using the Waters & Deane Q-Sor. (1985). affects preschoolers' collaborative problem-solving interactions. We compared collaborative styles of 19 securely- and 18 insecurely-attached three and four year olds during a grocery planning task with mother and then a strange female adult who was also the mother of a preschool child. Results indicated that securely-attached preschoolers were more likely to show task-relevant and metacognitive behavior in both contexts and performed better with the stranger than did their insecure peers. The collaborative style of mothers of secure children was more in synchrony with secure children's level of participation in the task than with that of insecure children who were less focused on goal-directed task activities. Strangers were generally less structuring than mothers particularly with insecure children. Interestingly, the security status of the stranger's own child did not influence her collaborative style with an unfamiliar preschooler. Results are discussed with reference to concepts from both attachment and Vygotskian theories.