ainsworth's strange situation Flashcards
procedure
controlled observation in a lab, takes place in a room with a two-way mirror through which psychologists can observe infants behaviour
what were the 5 behaviours used to judge the attachment
- proximity seeking - infants with a good attachment would stay fairly close to the caregiver.
- secure-base behaviour - good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using the caregiver a secure base
- stranger anxiety
- separation anxiety
- response to reunion
how long did each episode last
three minutes
episode 1
child is encouraged to explore
what behaviour does the child encouraged to explore test
exploration/secure-base behaviour
episode 2
a stranger comes in and tries to interact
what behaviour does stranger coming in and trying to interact test
stranger anxiety
episode 3
caregiver leaves the child and the stranger together
what behaviour does caregiver leaving child and stranger together test
separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
episode 4
the caregiver returns and stranger leaves
what behaviour does caregiver returning and stranger leaving test
reunion behaviour and exploration/secure base
episode 5
caregiver leaves child alone
what behaviour does caregiver leaving child alone test
separation anxiety
episode 6
the stranger returns
what behaviour does stranger returning test
stranger anxiety
episode 7
caregiver returns and reunites with child
what behaviour does caregiver returns and reunites with child test
reunion behaviour
what are the three main types of attachment
- secure attachment
- insecure avoidant attachment
- insecure resistant attachment
what is secure attachment
Children explore happily but regularly go back to caregiver.
Show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety.
Require and accept comfort from caregiver on reunion
what percent of british toddlers are classified as secure
60-75%
what is insecure avoidant
Explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
Little to no reaction when caregiver leaves and little effort to make contact when caregiver returns
Show little stranger anxiety
Do not require comfort at reunion stage
what percent of toddlers are insecure avoidant
20-25%
what is insecure resistant
Seek greater proximity than others and so explore less
Show huge stranger and separation distress but they resist comfort when reunited with carer.
what percent of toddlers are insecure resistant
around 3%
strength of SS (validity)
has high validity because it was done in lab setting so had control over extraneous variables.
Also found that the attachment types identified by ainsworth affect the later development. Babies assessed as secure attachment went on to have better outcomes in many areas such as success in school and future relationships and friendships in adulthood. Those assessed as insecure-resistant had worse outcomes such as developing mental health disorders in adulthood
strength of SS (reliability)
SS had high inter-rater reliability. Used multiple observers and majority came to the same conclusion/identification of attachment type. This is due to controlled conditions and behavioural categories which allowed observers to identify behaviour easily.
weakness of SS (culture bound)
the strange situation does not have the same meaning in cultures outside of the USA and Western europe. Cultural differences in childhood an differences in carer behaviour in the strange situation.
EG. Japanese mothers rarely separated from babies so there are high levels of separation anzxiety. Also mothers ran in to scoop babies up when reunited to reunion behaviour was hard to observe. (Takahashi et al)
