Ainsworth's Strange Situation Flashcards
1
Q
What was Ainsworth’s strange situation and why was it developed?
A
- controlled observation of key attachment behaviours
- developed to assess the quality of a child’s attachment to their caregiver
2
Q
What was the procedure of the Strange Situation?
A
- took place in a controlled setting (lab) with a 2-way mirror for psychologists to observe the infant’s behaviour
- behaviours used to judge attachment were:
- proximity seeking
- exploration & secure-base behaviour
- stranger anxiety
- separation anxiety
- response to reunion
- 7 episodes in the procedure which each lasted 3 minutes
3
Q
What were 7 episodes involved in the procedure?
A
- caregiver & child enter an unfamiliar playroom
1. child is encourages to explore
2. stranger enters & tries to interact with child
3. caregiver leaves child & stranger together
4. caregiver returns & stranger leaves
5. caregiver leaves child alone
6. stranger returns
7. caregiver returns & reunites with child
4
Q
What were the findings of the Strange Situation?
A
- Ainsworth et al. found distinct patterns in the infants’ behaviour
- she identified 3 main types of attachment:
secure attachment
insecure-avoidant attachment
insecure-resistant attachment
5
Q
What is secure attachment?
A
- children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver
- show moderate separation & stranger anxiety
- they require & accept comfort from their caregiver during the reunion stage
6
Q
What is insecure-avoidant attachment?
A
- these children explore freely but don’t show secure base behaviour
- show little to no distress when their caregiver leaves & make little effort to contact caregiver when they return
- show little stranger anxiety
- don’t require comfort at reunion stage
7
Q
What is insecure-resistant attachment?
A
- these children seek greater proximity of others & therefore explore less
- show huge separation & stranger anxiety but resist comfort when reunited with caregiver
8
Q
Evaluation: Support for validity
A
- attachment type defined by the Strange Situation is highly predictive of later development
- e.g. babies assessed as securely attached typically range from success in schools & relationships in adulthood
- insecure-avoidant attachment is associated with worst outcomes including bullying in later childhood & adult mental health problems
- this is evidence for validity of the concept as it explains following outcomes
9
Q
Evidence: Good reliability
A
- has good inter-rater reliability which means other observers watching the same children generally agree on attachment type they’re classified into
- this is because the Strange Situation is highly controlled & also behavioral categories are easy to observe
- e.g. Bick et al looked at inter-rater reliability in a team of trained Strange Situations observers & found agreement on attachment type for 94% of tested babies
- this means we can be confident in attachment type classified by the Strange Situation since it doesn’t depend on who is observing them
10
Q
Evidence: The test may be culture-bound
A
- there is some doubt whether the Strange Situation is a culture-bound test so it doesn’t have meaning outside USA & Western Europe
- cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that they respond differently to the Strange Situation
- e.g. Takahashi found that the test doesn’t work in Japan since Japanese mothers are rarely separated from their babies so would show high levels of separation & stranger anxiety
- during reunion stage Japanese mothers rushed to their child so the child’s response was hard to observe
11
Q
Evaluation: There is at least one more attachment type
A
- Ainsworth concluded 3 attachment types however there may be at least one more
- e.g. Main & Solomon pointed out that a minority of children displayed atypical attachments that don’t fall into the 3 types
- this attachment is known as disorganised attachment where children display an odd mix of avoidant & insecure behaviours
