ainsworth's strange situation

Question 1

what was the aim of Ainsworth’s research?

Answer 1

to assess and measure the quality of attachments between infant and caregiver

Question 2

outline Ainsworth’s procedure

Answer 2

• controlled exp (2-way mirror)
• 106 infants aged 9-18 months
• middle class americans
• children assessed on 4 criteria; separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, reunion behaviour, willingness to explore
• 8 stages
  1. mother and child enter playroom
  2. child encouraged to explore
  3. stranger enters and attempts to interact with child
  4. mother leaves
  5. mother enters, stranger leaves
  6. mother leaves
  7. stranger returns
  8. mother returns and interacts

Question 3

outline Ainsworth’s findings

Answer 3

• found 3 main patterns of behaviour which formed 3 attachment types; secure, insecure resistant, insecure avoidant
• secure 65%
• insecure avoidant 22%
• insecure resistant 12%

Question 4

what were the findings of secure infants?

Answer 4

• shows some separation anxiety, but is easily soothed
• seeks proximity to caregiver on reunion
• shows moderate stranger anxiety
• highly willing to explore

Question 5

what were the findings of insecure avoidant infants?

Answer 5

• show little separation anxiety
• do not seek proximity to caregiver on reunion
• shows little stranger anxiety
• highly willing to explore

Question 6

what were the findings of insecure resistant infants?

Answer 6

• show high levels of distress and separation anxiety
• seeks (approaches) and resists proximity to caregiver on reunion
• high levels of stranger anxiety
• not willing to explore

Question 7

what were the conclusions of Ainsworth’s research?

Answer 7

• the results highlight the role of the mother’s behaviour in determining the quality of attachment
• led to the concept of the caregiver sensitivity hypothesis (mothers beh. towards infant predicts attachment type)

Question 8

evaluation: lacks population validity

Answer 8

ID: the study lacks population validity.
Q: It was primarily based on Western culture almost all of the studies were carried out in America.
EX: this means that, it therefore suffers from cultural bias, so we are less able to generalise the findings and criteria to other cultures. this is particularly the case due to the individualist-collectivist divide
between Western and Eastern countries, alongside cultural differences in upbringing and the
experiences which the child is exposed to. for example, Japanese children were judged as being resistant, according to us values, Takahashi said Japanese mothers rarely away from babies, so have high levels of separation anxiety
AN: this suggests that the findings are culture bound and also lack ecological validity, because
the results can only be generalised to the research settings within which they were found.

Question 9

evaluation: highly replicable + ELAB: lacks ecological validity

Answer 9

ID: highly replicable
Q: it was conducted in a lab setting, meaning all the variables were highly controlled.
EX: the strict control over confounding and extraneous variables increases the confidence that can be placed in drawing a ‘cause and effect’ relationship between the two outcomes. for example, as the research is highly operationalised, observers have a clear view of how a securely attached infant should behave, due to the 4 specific criteria used
E = therefore, the high control of variables means it is easily replicable so the research should have high inter-observer reliability, suggesting it is falsifiable
ELAB: however, the research lacks ecological validity. It was conducted in a lab setting, and despite the strict control over confounding and extraneous variables, it is not representative of real life so it lacks mundane realism and cannot be
generalised to real life.

Question 10

evaluation: categories are not always applicable

Answer 10

ID: furthermore, categories are not always applicable
Q: further research has found that Ainsworth et al’s analysis overlooked a 4th type of attachment called insecure-disorganised
EX: for example, Main and Cassidy found that infants do not all fit into the 3 categories proposed by Ainsworth. they proposed a disorganised attachment which results from ‘helpless’ mothers who fail to respond to the child, or take initiative when the child is distressed
AN: Therefore, the study may lack internal validity, as it cannot fully measure or conclude all types of attachment in infants.