Ainsworth strange situation

Question 1

what are some strengths

Answer 1

high reliability

Question 2

why does it have high reliability

Answer 2

• many observers present and almost a perfect agreement of 94% was found between observers
• findings of an observation are classified as meaningful if there is an agreement between observer so this study has a high inter-rater reliability

Question 3

what are some limitations

Answer 3

• conclusions oversimplified as other type of attachment present
• culture bias
• methodological issues

Question 4

who found that the conclusions of Ainsworth situation were oversimplified

Answer 4

Main & Solomon

Question 5

what did Main & Solomon do

Answer 5

• they analysed over 200 strange situation videos and proposed that there was a fourth type of attachment called insecure-disorganised which was characterised by a lack of consistent pattern of social behaviour
• proposed some infants don’t have a consistent type of attachment and lack the ability to deal with the stress fo separation

Question 6

what research supports Main & Solomon and how

Answer 6

Van ijzendoorn et al conducted a meta-analysis of studies in the US and found 15% had an insecure-disorganised attachment type

Question 7

what did the findings of Main & Solomon suggest

Answer 7

that Ainsworth original conclusion were oversimplified as they did not account for all attachment behaviours

Question 8

why is the study culturally biased

Answer 8

• the theory and method of Ainsworth study was based on western ideals in relation to infant behaviour, which caused a high proportion of kids from other countries to be categorised as insecure attached
• therefore they were thought to develop less stable relationships in the future which was not always the case
• infants in different cultures are raised differently so will respond differently to certain thing; in the US a child from Japan may seem insecure attached however in Japan he would be considered securely attached
• this means Ainsworth findings cannot be generalised to other cultures

Question 9

why does the study have methodological issues

Answer 9

• overt observation so the mothers knew they were being observed with their infant and may have displayed demand characteristics
• they may have acted more affectionate which could have altered he children’s behaviour in return making the results inaccurate