Ainsworth Strange Situation Flashcards
What were the three types of attachment that were analysed
Secure
• A secure attachment is the most desirable form of attachment and is associated with psychologically healthy outcomes.
• In the strange situation this is shown by the infant using the caregiver as a secure base, moderate stranger and separation anxiety, and joy on reunion
• This develops as a result of sensitive responding by the caregiver to the infant’s needs.
Insecure-Avoidant
• An attachment type characterised by low anxiety but weak attachment.
• In the strange situation this is shown by, low stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion – an avoidance of the caregiver.
• This develops as a result of the caregiver’s lack of sensitive responsiveness to the infant’s needs.
Insecure-Resistant
• An attachment type characterised by high anxiety and strong attachment
• In the strange situation, this is shown by high levels of stranger and separation anxiety and alternating between seeking closeness and wanting distance at contact (known as seeking and resisting).
• This develops as a result of the caregiver’s inconsistency to the infant’s needs.
What was the aim of the strange situation ?
To investigate individual differences in types of attachments, especially differences between secure and insecure attachments. She wanted to see how infants responded in a new and mildly stressful situation.
What was the procedure ?
purpose-built laboratory playroom and the method used was a controlled observation. It was a specially set up room in the university with the researchers watching through a one-way mirror and videotaping the research. The Strange Situation method consisted of eight episodes each of which lasted for three minutes including mother and baby entering the room, stranger entering the room, mother leaving, mother returning etc. The sample consisted of American infants aged between 12 and 18 months. The observers recorded the infants and mothers’ behaviour to assess secure and insecure attachments noting key behaviours:
• Exploration and secure base – A more securely attached child will explore more widely using their caregiver as a secure base, i.e., a point of contact that will make them feel safe.
• Separation anxiety – the response the child makes when the mother departs.
• Stranger anxiety – the reaction of the child to a stranger.
• Reunion behaviour – how the child behaves when the mother returns.
What were the findings?
Secure –
70%
Type B
Willingness to explore – They explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base behaviour)
Separation anxiety – Moderate distress
Stranger anxiety – Moderate distress. Treat the mother and stranger differently.
Reunion behaviour - Joy on Reunion (greet mother with enthusiasm)
Insecure Avoidant – 20%
Type A
Willingness to explore – Explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. Play is not affected by the presence or absence of mother.
Separation anxiety– Little distress on separation.
Stranger anxiety – Respond to the mother and stranger in similar ways.
Reunion behaviour - Avoids contact on reunion
Insecure Resistant – 10%
Type C
Willingness to explore - No secure base and not willing to explore.
Separation anxiety - Very distressed at separation (clingy).
Stranger anxiety - Resists the stranger.
Reunion behaviour - Seeks and resists contact on reunion (e.g., they would put their arms up to be picked up but then would immediately struggle to get down).
Conclusion: Ainsworth believed there are significant individual differences between infants, which may be related to the behaviour and responsiveness of the caregiver. This suggests that an innate tendency for attachment is affected by life experiences.
What is the strength of validity?
not only does it provide a good measure of attachment that differentiates between the different attachment types; it also strongly predicts later development. Infants assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. Insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcome including bullying in later childhood (Myron-Wilson and Smith, 1998) and adult mental health problems (Ward et al. 2006). This supports the predictive validity of the strange situation as a useful tool to identify early types of attachment and predict adult relationships.
What is the strength about reliability?
shows very good inter-rater reliability. In other words, different observers watching the same children in the strange situation generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with. This may be because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions using standardised procedures and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe. In a recent study, Bick et al. (2012) looked at inter-rater reliability in a team of trained strange situation observers and found agreement on attachment type for 94% of tested infants. This means we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the strange situation does not just depend on who is observing them.
Summarise the culture bound test
The strange situation was created and tested in the USA, which means it may be culturally biased (ethnocentric), as it will reflect the norms and values of American culture. Cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children and their caregivers respond differently to the strange situation. For example, Takahashi (1990) noted that the strange situation did not work in Japan, as Japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their babies that there are very high levels of separation anxiety. At the reunion episode, Japanese mothers rushed to the babies and scooped them up, meaning the child’s response was hard to observe. This suggests the strange situation is an example of imposed etic, Mary Ainsworth assumed that the American based model of classifying attachment was the norm, and so she imposed her own cultural understanding upon the rest of the world.
What is the other type of attachment that wasn’t taken into account .
Main and Solomon (1986) found that Ainsworth et al. overlooked a fourth type of attachment. They analysed over 200 strange situation videotapes and proposed insecure- disorganised attachment, type D, which is characterised by a lack of consistent patterns of social behaviour. Such infants lack a coherent strategy for dealing with the stress of separation. For example, they show very strong attachment behaviour which is suddenly followed by avoidance or looking fearful towards their caregiver. Van Ijzendoorn et al (1999) further supported this with a meta-analysis of nearly 80 studies in the US. They found 15% were classified as insecure-disorganised. Therefore, the existence of a disorganised attachment type challenges Ainsworth’s notion of attachment types.
You can also use the Temperament Hypothesis to evaluate the strange situation see cross-cultural evaluation
