Ainsworth Strange Situation Flashcards
Behaviours of attachment
- proximity to mother
- exploration / secure base
- stranger anxiety
- separation anxiety
- reunion response
- sensitive responsiveness of mother to infant needs
What did ainsworth develop
Paradigm method of studying attachment
‘The Strange Situation’
Ainsworth 1969: aim
To observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver
Ainsworth 1969: participants
106 middle class American infants aged between 12-18 months and their mothers
Ainsworth 1969: procedure
• Controlled observation (room with 2-waymirror/cameras)
Procedure:
– In a laboratory, but NOT AN EXPERIMENT!
• 8episodes,eachlastingaround3minutes
– (except episode one which lasts around 30 seconds)
• Data was combined from several studies. In total 106 infants were observed
Thetestingroomwasanunfamiliarenvironmentcontaining chairs and toys
– ‘Strange Situation’
• Five categories of behaviours were recorded through a two-
way mirror
• Every15seconds,thecategoryofbehaviourdisplayedwas recorded and scored on an intensity scale of 1 to 7
Ainsworth: 1
Mother + infant in experimental
Ainsworth: 2
Mother is passive while infant explores the room
Ainsworth: 3
Stranger enters, then talks to mother, then approches infant
Ainsworth: 4
Separation episode 1
Mother leaves, stranger attempts to interact with the infant
Ainsworth: 5
Reunion episode 1
Stranger leaves, mother greets /comforst infant / then tries to engage the infant in play again
Mother then leaves
Ainsworth: 6
Second separation episode
Infant alone
Ainsworth: 7
Continuation of 2nd separation
Stranger enters and attempts to engage with the infant
Ainsworth: 8
2nd reunion
Mother enters, greets and then picks up the infant - stranger leaves quitely
Ainsworth: findings
- generally infants explores the playroom and toys more enthusiastically when mother present
attachment types:
Type A - insecure avoidant
Type B - secure attachment
Type C - insecure resistant
Type A
Insecure avoidant 20-25% High willingness to explore High stranger anxiety Low separation anxiety Indifferent behaviour on reunion with caregiver