7. Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’: Attachment Types

Question 1

who did research into the ‘Strange situation’

Answer 1

Ainsworth and Bell (1970)

Question 2

Ainsworth’s ‘Strange situation’ research:
aim

Answer 2

Ainsworth and Bell (1970) aimed to assess individual differences in attachment by using the Strange Situation.

Question 3

Ainsworth’s ‘Strange situation’ research:
procedure

Answer 3

106 middle class American infants were observed with their mothers in a laboratory setting to assess their ‘attachment type’

The observation was a controlled, covert, non-participant observation.

The infants (aged 12-18 months) were observed over a sequence of 8 short episodes, in which a mother and stranger take it in turns to enter the room, interact with the child and leave the room to observe 4 key behaviours:
- separation anxiety
- reunion behaviour
- stranger anxiety
- exploration behaviour

Question 4

what is meant by separation anxiety

Answer 4

the child’s reaction to the caregiver leaving

Question 5

what is meant by reunion behaviour

Answer 5

the child’s reaction when the caregiver returns

Question 6

what is meant by stranger anxiety

Answer 6

the child’s reaction to a stranger (person of whom they are unfamiliar)

Question 7

what is meant by exploration behaviour

Answer 7

the child’s willingness to explore their environment

Question 8

Ainsworth’s ‘Strange situation’ research:
findings

Answer 8

Ainsworth found there were 3 different types of attachment:
- secure attachment (66%)
- insecure-avoidant (22%)
- insecure-resistant (12%)

Question 9

Ainsworth’s ‘Strange situation’ research:
conclusion

Answer 9

it was concluded that the sensitivity of the caregiver had a significant impact on the attachment type of the infant

Question 10

differences between the attachment types: separation anxiety

Answer 10

secure AT can be distressed when the mother leaves, and their play is reduced (moderate separation anxiety) whereas insecure-avoidant AT shows no or little distress when mother leaves (no separation anxiety) whereas insecure-resistant AT shows extreme distress when the mother leaves, little or no play (extreme separation anxiety)

Question 11

differences between the attachment types: reunion behaviour

Answer 11

secure AT approaches the mother, is easily comforted, shows joy and happiness when the mother returns whereas insecure-avoidant AT ignores or avoids the mother in return and doesn’t seek contact whereas insecure-resistant AT may go to the mother but can’t be easily comforted

Question 12

differences between the attachment types: stranger anxiety

Answer 12

Secure AT plays with the stranger while the mother is there (used as a safe base) but can’t be comforted by the stranger when the mother leaves - moderate stranger anxiety whereas insecure-avoidant AT can be easily comforted by strangers (doesn’t need to use mother as a safe base) - low stranger anxiety whereas insecure-resistant show extreme stranger anxiety

Question 13

differences between the attachment types: exploration behaviour

Answer 13

secure AT are keen to explore whereas insecure-avoidant AT are willing to explore whereas insecure-resistant AT are unwilling to explore

Question 14

why may a child have a secure attachment type

Answer 14

caregiver is sensitive to the child’s needs

Question 15

why may a child have an insecure-avoidant attachment type

Answer 15

caregiver is indifferent to the child’s needs

Question 16

why may a child have an insecure-resistant attachment type

Answer 16

caregiver is sometimes rejecting and sometimes over sensitive to the child’s needs

Question 17

Ainsworth’s ‘Strange situation’ research:
EVALUATION
- Strengths

Answer 17

P: easy to replicate cross culturally
E: methodology is controlled and standardised so it can be used not only in Western cultures like America and Germany but in a wide range of other cultures as well
E: eg, same settings and methodology have been replicated in eastern cultures such as Japan
L: the methodology is a useful tool that is easy to replicate, which has demonstrated variations both within and between cultures
E: also means the findings can be easily tested for reliability

Question 18

Ainsworth’s ‘Strange situation’ research:
EVALUATION
- Limitations

Answer 18

P: lacks ecological validity
E: artificial laboratory setting may not reflect real life behaviour
E: eg, children may respond differently in the strange situation than they would at home and therefore may be judged inaccurately
L: findings can’t be generalised to real life attachment behaviours

P: bases attachment type in the observation of the relationship between mother and infant only
E: ignores the father, which gives an inaccurate view on a child’s attachment type
E: eg, nat be insecurely attached to the mother but securely attached to the father
L: results can’t be generalised to other attachment figures

P: raises ethical issues
E: intends to cause mild distress to the infants, many see as unacceptable
E: in episode 6, 20% of infants reportedly cried ‘desperately’, showing their distress
L: goes against the psychological code of ethics by lack of protection from harm
E: however, Ainsworth suggests the SS adheres to ethical guidelines as it is no more disturbing than real-life experiences

P: classification system doenst fit all infants
E: some children in SS showed attachment behaviour that was inconsistent w the 3 main attachment types
E: Main and Solomon (1986): added a fourth type ‘D’ (disorganised attachment) for children who were inconsistent and didn’t fit into one of Ainsworth’s 3 types (eg cry first time mother leaves but not second)
L: suggests the study was unsuccessful at classifying all infants

P: suffered demand characteristics
E: mothers knew they were being observed so may have acted unnaturally
E: may have behaved more sensitively towards their child than usual, causing the infant to behave differently too
L: lowers internal validity of the research into attachment types