Ainsworth Strange Situation Flashcards
AO1: Ainsworth Strange Situation
Ainsworth and Bell conducted a controlled observation of children’s attachment behaviour using the Strange Situation Classification. The sample was 100 middle class American mothers and infants. Ainsworth judges the child’s reaction on the following four variables using a two way mirror: willingness to explore environment, stranger anxiety (child reaction to being alone with stranger) separation anxiety (child’s reaction when mother leaves) and reunion behaviour (child’s reaction when mother returns). The parent entered the room with child who explored for 3 minutes. A stranger joined parent and child and tried to interact with them (stranger anxiety). The parent left leaving them alone with stranger. Parent returns (reunion behaviour) and stranger leaves. Parent leaves the room (separation anxiety). Stranger returns. Parent enters and stranger leaves. They found 70% had a secure attachment, 20% had insecure avoidant attachment and 10% had insecure resistant attachment.
AO1: Secure attachment findings
- Willing to explore using mother as secure base
- Upset/subdued when mother leaves
- Avoidant of stranger but friendly when mother is present
- Happy when mother returns
Associated with responsive primary caregiver.
AO1: Insecure avoidant attachment findings
- High willingness to explore
- Unconcerned when mother leaves
- Unconcerned and avoidant with mother and stranger
- Unresponsive when mother returns
Associated with unresponsive primary caregiver.
AO1: Insecure resistant attachment findings
- Low willingness to explore
- Intensely distressed when mother leaves
- Extreme fear of stranger
- Clinginess mixed with rejection when mother returns
Associated with inconsistent primary caregiver
What are the evaluations for SS? (3 + stretch)
1) RTS Van Izjendoorn and Kroonenberg - replication
2) Lacks ecological validity
3) Imposed etic
4) Stretch
AO3: RTS Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
RTS Ainsworth’s strange situation into attachment types was conducted by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg. They replicated the strange situation in the USA and found consistent results that matched Ainsworth’s. They found 65% had secure attachment, 21% had insecure avoidant and 14% had insecure resistant. This supports Ainsworth Strange Situation as it shows further evidence for all three attachment types and shows the secure attachment is the most common type. This increases the validity of Ainsworth’s Strange situation in attachment types.
AO3: Lacks ecological validity
However Ainsworth’s Strange Situation into attachment types can be criticised for lacking ecological validity. This is because it is a controlled environment, room with a two way mirror. Therefore it may be difficult to vernalise the findings to real life attachment types as the child may behave differently than normal. For example a child may explore the room less or have more fear of the stranger because they feel shy or uncomfortable in an unfamiliar setting. This lowers the external validity of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation into attachment types.
AO3: Imposed Etic
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation tool into attachment types can be criticised for Imposed Etic. It is based on American child rearing practices and ignore practices from other cultures. For example in Germany, independence in infants is encouraged so a child may have an insecure avoidant attachment according to the strange situation. However this may be seen as desirable in Germany rather than insecure. Therefore Ainsworth’s Strange Situation may not be an appropriate tool for measuring attachment types in other cultures.
AO3: Stretch Kagan
Kagan criticises Ainsworth’s assumptions that anxiety produced by the child is due to the child’s attachment with their mother. He suggests the most important influence on behaviour is temperament, the genetically influenced personailty of the child. For example a child showing extreme distress during separation will be wrongly labelled as insecure avoidant when it could be that they have a naturally anxious personality. This suggests that temperament is a confounding variable in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation into attachment types.
