Ainsworth's strange situation Flashcards
What was the procedure?
A controlled observation took place in a room with a two-way mirror to observe the infants behaviour.
What behaviours were observed to judge attachment?
Proximity seeking, exploration and secure base behaviour, stranger anxiety, seperation anxiety and response to reunion
How many episodes were in the procedure and what did they consist of?
There were 7 episodes with combinations of the primary caregiver, the baby and a stranger.
What were the findings?
There were 3 main types of attachment: Secure (60-70%), insecure-avoidant (20-25%) and insecure-resistant (3%)
What is the secure attachment type?
These children explore but also go back to the primary caregiver. They show moderate seperation anxiety and stranger anxiety and accept comfort on reunion.
What is the insecure-avoidant attachment type?
They explore freely and do not seek proximity to the primary caregiver. They don’t react when the caregiver leaves and don’t show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety. They don’t require comfort on reunion.
What is the insecure-resistant attachment type?
They seek proximity to their caregiver and so do not explore. They show huge stranger and separation anxiety but reject comfort on reunion.
What are the strengths of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation?
There is support for validity as it can predict later development such as secure attachment types having better relationships.
There is good reliability as the situation is very controlled and the behavioural checklist makes it easy to repeat with other observers.
What are the weakesses of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation?
The test may be culture bound as it was created for Europe and the US so when used in collectivist cultures such as Japan, mothers rushed up and scooped up the baby, meaning you can’t measure their joy on reunion.
It may measure temperament instead of attachment as this may influence behaviour and be a confounding variable.
There is at least one more attachment type which wasn’t mentioned in the Strange Situation. This is known as disorganised attachment as they showed mixed behaviours.
