Ainsworth's Strange Situation

Question 1

What is the procedure for the strange situation?

Answer 1

7 episodes, each lasting 3 minutes. The child is encouraged to explore. A stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child. The caregiver leaves the child and stranger together. The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves. The caregiver leaves the child alone. The stranger returns. The caregiver returns and is reunited with the child.

Question 2

What do the 7 steps in the strange situation aim to test?

Answer 2

1. Exploration and a secure base
2. Stranger anxiety
3. Separation and stranger anxiety
4. Reunion and exploration
5. Separation anxiety
6. Stranger anxiety
7. Reunion behaviour

Question 3

What were Ainworth’s findings? (strange situation).

Answer 3

70% of children were securely attached, 20% were insecure- avoidant and 10% were insecure- resistant.

Question 4

How do you classify the behaviour of somebody with a secure attachment?

Answer 4

High willingness to explore, high stranger anxiety, some separation anxiety but easy to soothe, enthusiastic reunion behaviour and the caregivers behaviour is sensitive.

Question 5

How do you classify the behaviour of someone with an insecure- avoidant attachment?

Answer 5

High willingness to explore, low stranger anxiety, indifferent separation anxiety, avoids or ignores contact (reunion behaviour), and the caregivers behaviour is indifferent to the infant.

Question 6

How do you classify the behaviour of someone with an insecure- resistant attachment type?

Answer 6

Low willingness to explore, high stranger anxiety ,distressed separation anxiety, seeks and rejects on reunion behaviour and the caregivers behaviour is ambivalent.

Question 7

Positive evaluation points for the strange situation?

Answer 7

• Supporting research (Hazen+Shaver’s love quiz) shows attachment type strongly predicts later development of relationships.
• It has good inter- rater reliability due to controlled conditions and behavioral categories observers agree.

Question 8

Negative evaluation points for the strange situation?

Answer 8

• Takahashi replicated with 90 Japanese babies. 90% of time, it had to be stopped due to stress of separation anxiety. 68% Type B (Secure) and 32% Type C (Insecure- Resistant). This may imply that it is not suitable to study attachment in other cultures.
• Is the classification valid? Main+Soloman added the fourth type of disorganised attachment.

Question 9

What types of attachment are the A, B and C in the strange situation?

Answer 9

A= Insecure Avoidant
B=Secure
C= Insecure Resistant