Ainsworth & Strange Situation Flashcards
Aim
To see differences in children’s behaviour and how that links to attachment type and parenting styles
Procedure
Structured observation in a lab setting which is set up to look like a playroom. The children’s behaviour was observed through a two-way mirror (covert). It consisted of 8 stages that were each 3 minutes long.
Stage1: mother & baby enter.
Stage 2: mother sits while baby explores/ plays (secure base?)
Stage 3: stranger enters and interacts with baby (stranger anxiety?) Stage 4: Mother leaves and stranger interacts with baby (separation anxiety?)
Stage 5: Mother returns (reunion behaviour?) Stage 6: Mother leaves. Stage 7: stranger returns and interacts.
Stage 8: final reunion of mother and baby.
Sample
26 mothers and babies from the USA, middle class
Results
Avoidant = 20% (no secure base, no separation anxiety, no stranger anxiety, no need for soothing on reunion). Caused by neglectful parenting.
Secure = 70% (secure base, separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, easily soothed on reunion). Caused by responsive parenting.
Resistant = 10% (no exploration/ clingy, separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, not easily soothed/ay lash out on reunion). Caused by inconsistent parenting.
G (AO3)
(-) ethnocentric - all mothers and babies were from USA so results about attachment type cannot be applied to other cultures (collectivist cultures like China).
(-) Only mothers and babies used - results about child’s attachment behaviour may be different with other carers (father) therefore cannot be generalised.
R (AO3)
(+) Highly standardised procedure as the same 8 stages were the mother and stranger leave and enter were used for all children. Results about baby’s reactions to strangers can be repeated to see if the Strange Situation is a reliable way of measuring attachment types.
(+) Multiple observers are used to judge the behaviour of the child during the stages of the procedure. Inter-rater reliability can be established to see if there is a high rate of agreement between observers on children’s behaviour.
A (AO3)
(+) Teaches parents to be more responsive to their children meaning that there will be more securely attached children
(-) Socially sensitive
V (AO3)
(+) Low chance of demand characteristics from the children since they were being observed covertly (through a two-way mirror) also young children are less likely to understand the study, therefore they wont change their behaviour. Findings about the effects that separation has on a child’s behaviour are more valid.
(-) The situation is staged so natural behaviour of the children isn’t measured in a realistic way. The study’s results about attachment will be low in ecological validity meaning that they cannot be applied to real life situations.
(-) The Strange Situation procedure may not be an appropriate tool for measuring the behaviour of of children who are already used to separation through daycare. Prior daycare experience is an EV which lowers the validity of the findings on attachment types.
E (AO3)
(-) Strange Situation procedure may be temporarily distressing for the child as they are separated from their mother and exposed to a stranger. (+) OTOH, mothers were able to remove their child from the study or cut each 3 minute stage short if it became too distressing for them.
Main & Soloman (AO3)
(-) 4th attachment type (disorganised). This wasn’t accounted for in the Strange Situation and therefore both the theory and the study may be considered a reductionist/incomplete view of attachment.
Kagan (AO3)
(-) It isn’t the type of parenting which effects attachment type, it is the child’s innate temperament. Therefore, this theory may be reductionist because it doesn’t account for individual differences in parenting
