Ainsworth's strange situation + Typers of attachment

Question 1

What did Ainsworth and Bell (1970) develop?

Answer 1

A technique for assessing attachment types called the ‘strange situation’. They studied 100 US middle class mothers and their infants- it’s a controlled observation in which infant behaviour is recorded through a two-way mirror and/or a video camera. It has eight distinct staged lasting 3 minutes each.

Question 2

What are the 8 stages?

Answer 2

Stage 1- caregiver sits on a chair in one corner of a room and the infant is free to explore and play with toys
Stage 2- a stranger enters the room and talks with the caregiver
Stage 3- the stranger approaches the child with a toy and tries to interact
Stage 4- the caregiver leaves so that the stranger and the child are alone
Stage 5- caregiver returns and stranger leaves
Stage 6- caregiver leaves so the child is alone
Stage 7- stranger returns and interacts with child
Stage 8- caregiver returns and stranger leaves

Question 3

What 4 behaviours are measured in the strange situation?

Answer 3

1. Willingness to explore- how willing the child is to go off and play on their own and how often they return to the caregiver (periodically= secure base)
2. Separation anxiety- how distressed the child becomes when separated from the caregiver
3. Stranger anxiety- how distressed the child becomes when faced with the stranger
4. Reunion behaviour- how the child responds to the caregiver when they return after leaving the room

Question 4

What were Ainsworth and Bell’s findings?

Answer 4

They found evidence for 3 different attachment types with different traits showing the individual differences in attachment styles:
Secure attachment- Infants explore a new environment and use caregivers as a secure base- show moderate separation and stranger anxiety- soon develops comfort and greets caregiver positively when they return
Insecure-avoidant-Infants happily explore a new environment and don’t use the caregiver as a secure base- they show little signs of separation and stranger anxiety- not phased when caregiver returns and may avoid them
Insecure-resistant- Infants explore new environments less willingly, staying close to their caregiver- show extreme signs of separation and stranger anxiety- resist attempts to be soothed by caregiver on return and may push them away

Question 5

What are the strengths of Ainsworth and Bell’s research?

Answer 5

1. Well controlled research- all observed in the same environment with exactly the same procedure- minimises any extraneous variables- high level of control led to reliable findings with a correlation of 0.94 reported between different observers- high inter-rater reliability and control
2. Useful implications- used to develop programmes aimed to develop a secure attachment types in infants- Circle of Security Project- this found a decrease in insecure attachment types (60%-15%) and increased secure attachments (32%-40%)- positive contribution to society

Question 6

What are the limitations of Ainsworth and Bell’s research?

Answer 6

1. Artificial setting- low ecological validity- could have damaged the validity- causing the infants or parents to act unnaturally- may feel tense or cause social desirability bias from the mothers- may not measure true attachment types
2. Cultural bias- uses American infants and mothers so fits with American childrearing norms- BUT it has been used on infants from other cultures which is known as the imposed etic- further research shows that the procedure doesn’t have the same meaning in other cultures- Japan and Isreal is rare for a child to ever be left alone- so may be classed as insecure-resistant- not generalisable