Ainsworth's Strange Situation Flashcards
The Strange Situation
Ainsworth’s strange situation is an observational method for testing strength of attachment between a caregiver and an infant devised by Ainsworth et al. (1971). Infants aged between 9-18 months were placed in a novel situation of mild stress, namely an unfamiliar room whereby they are left alone, left with a stranger and reunited with their caregiver. Ainsworth observed how the infants behaved through a one-way mirror during a set of 8 different scenarios, each lasting approximately 3 minutes.
Observations of the following behaviours were recorded (4 behavioural categories):
- Separation anxiety
- Reunion behaviour
- Exploration
- Stranger anxiety
1) The mother and infant enter the room. The mother sits on one of the chairs and reads a magazine. The child is placed on the floor and is free to explore the toys.
Exploration
2) A stranger enters and sits on the second chair and talks briefly with the mother.
Stranger anxiety
3) The stranger approaches the infant and attempts to interact and play with them.
Stranger anxiety
4) The mother leaves the room so that the infant is alone with the stranger. The stranger comforts the baby if they are upset and offers to play with them.
Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
5) The mother returns and the stranger leaves.
Reunion behaviour
6) The mother departs again leaving the baby briefly alone in the room.
Separation anxiety
7) The stranger re-enters and offers to comfort and play with the baby.
Stranger anxiety
8) The mother returns and the stranger leaves.
Reunion behaviour
Secure (66%) - Type B
Exploration
- the infant explores the unfamiliar environment, returning to the mother at regular intervals and using her as a safe-base.
Separation anxiety
- moderate separation anxiety: the infant’s play is seriously disrupted when the mother leaves.
Stranger anxiety
- moderate stranger anxiety: the infant is wary of strangers and will move closer to the mother when she is present with the stranger.
Reunion behaviour
- the infant is pleased to see the mother, seeks proximity and is easily comforted by her presence. The infant shows joy upon reunion.
Insecure-Avoidant (22%) - Type A
Exploration
- the infant explores the unfamiliar environment but does not return to the mother and does not use her as a safe base.
Separation anxiety
- low separation anxiety: the infant is not concerned by the mother’s departure.
Stranger anxiety
- low stranger anxiety: the infant is not concerned about the stranger and shows little preference between the mother and the stranger.
Reunion behaviour
- the infant show little reaction upon the mother’s return and often ignores her. The child does not seek proximity or show joy upon reunion.
Insecure-Resistant (12%) - Type C
Exploration
- the infant does not explore the unfamiliar environment, choosing to stay close to the mother.
Separation anxiety
- high separation anxiety: the infant becomes extremely distressed and violent when the mother leaves.
Stranger anxiety
- high stranger anxiety: the infant becomes extremely distressed when the stranger goes to comfort them.
Reunion behaviour
- the infant is not easily comforted by mother - seeks but rejects/resists attempts of mother’s comfort on reunion.
Strength
point: The strange situation method of assessing attachment type is approved for its standardised methodology.
evidence: The observations took place under strict and controlled conditions (including video recording) using predetermined behavioural categories. Since Ainsworth had several observers that observed the same infant’s behaviour, agreement on attachment classifications can be ensured. Ainsworth found 94% agreement between observers and when inter-observer reliability is assumed to a high degree, the findings are considered more meaningful.
justification: This suggests that this study has a high level of reliability meaning that a consistent measure of attachment types across different contexts can occur. This also allows for replication of the study to make the findings more robust.
Weakness
point: Ainsworth’s strange situation has been criticised for its unrealistic nature.
evidence: Ainsworth conducted her observations in a controlled, artificial setting which was unfamiliar to both the parents and the infants. Therefore, the children she was observing may have acted differently to how they would have acted in a more familiar environment, such as at home. This means that we do not know if the behaviours displayed b y the children would be the same when they are not in a novel environment.
justification: This lowers the ecological validity of this study as findings aren’t applicable to a real-life setting.
Weakness
point: Ainsworth’s study has been criticised for its methodological issues.
evidence: This is primarily because of the type of observation that she conducted, which was overt in its design. The parents in Ainsworth’s study knew that they were being observed through the one-way mirror and therefore may have displayed demand characteristics. This means that the mothers could have been overly affectionate towards their child as they believed that this is the behaviour that the scenario demanded of them.
justification: As a result, this lowers the internal validity of this study as it is possible that the mothers’ modified behaviour may have in turn altered the infants’ behaviour, suggesting that natural behaviour would not have been recorded.
Weakness
point: There is a possibility that Ainsworth’s classification system of attachment types is incomplete.
evidence: Main and Solomon (1986) conducted subsequent research whereby they analysed several hundred strange situation episodes via videotape and suggested that Ainsworth overlooked a fourth type. It was noted that some infants showed inconsistent patterns of behaviour which they termed Type D: insecure-disorganised. Further support for this claim comes from a meta-analysis of studies from the US conducted by Van Ijzendoorn et al. (1999) which found that 15% of infants were classified as Type D.
justification: This is a limitation of Ainsworth’s strange situations as it suggests that only partial conclusions can be drawn of this and subsequent strange situation studies. As a result, it might not provide a comprehensive understanding of the different attachment types.
