⭐️ Ainsworth strange situation✅

Question 1

what was the purpose of Ainsworth’s strange situation?

Answer 1

assess the quality of a Childs attachment to the caregiver

Question 2

how was it set up?

Answer 2

a controlled lab experiment with a 2 way mirror which allowed psychologists to serve infants behaviour

Question 3

procedure:

what were the 5 categories used to judge the attachment quality?

(if they show these it means there well attached)

Answer 3

1️⃣proximity seeking - well attached infanta stay close to CG

2️⃣exploration + secure- based behaviour - good attachment gives infant confidence to explore

3️⃣ stranger anxiety - displayed by well attached infants

4️⃣ seperation anxiety - displayed by well attached infants

5️⃣reunion behaviour - well attached infants were happy and enthusiastic to be united with their CG after a short amount of time

Question 4

procedure:

what were the 7 ‘episodes’ involved?

Answer 4

1- cg encourages  infant to explore
2- stranger enters and talks to cg
3- cg leaves 
4- cg returns, stranger leaves
5- cg leaves child alone
6- stranger returns
7- cg returns

Question 5

findings:

what did Ainsworth identify as the 3 main types of attachment?

Answer 5

1) secure attachment
2) insecure avoidant attachment
3) insecure- resistance attachment

Question 6

secure attachment:

when does it happen?

what % of British toddlers fell in this category?

what is the childs exploration like?

seperation and stranger anxiety?

reunion behaviour?

Answer 6

mother meets the emotional needs of the child

60- 75%

happy to explore but seeks proximity with the cg ( their secure base)

moderate

requires and accepts comfort from CG when reunited

Question 7

insecure avoidant:

when does it happen?

what % of British toddlers fell into this category?

what is the childs exploration like?

separation and stranger anxiety?

reunion behaviour?

Answer 7

mother ignores emotional needs

20-25%

explores freely , no secure base

little/ non

no comfort required when reunited

Question 8

insecure resistent:

when does it happen?

what % of British toddlers fell into this category?

what is the childs exploration like?

separation and stranger anxiety?

reunion behaviour?

Answer 8

mother is inconsistent sometimes meets sometimes ignores emotional needs

3%

explores less and seeks greater proximity

considerable amounts of both shown

resist comfort when reunited with CG

Question 9

AO3:

✅2 strengths

Answer 9

✅very good inter-rater reliability shown. different observers watched the same children and mainly all agreed on the same thing. this may bc it took place under controlled conditions so behavioural categories are easy to observe . high internal validity, standardised procedure… no investigator effects

✅ the strange situation has been used in different aspects of psychology such as in the Bucharest early intervention project …. replicable

Question 10

ao3:

❌ 2 weaknesses

Answer 10

❌ IMPOSED ETIC / ETHNOCENTRIC = she studied behaviour in America and applied the ‘ideal attachment type’ in America, to the rest of the world, leading to results affected by cultural bias because child rearing practices largely vary across the world. which reduces credibility due to bias

❌ some research has shown that the same child may show different attachment behaviors on different occasions. Children’s attachments may change, perhaps because of changes in the child’s circumstances, so a securely attached child may appear insecurely attached if the mother becomes ill or the family circumstances change.

Question 11

what did Ainsworth conclude?

Answer 11

‘caregiver sensitivity hypothesis’

argues that a child’s attachment style is dependent on the behavior their mother shows towards them.