Ainsworth- Strange Situation

Question 1

A01 Procedure

Answer 1

• A Structured observation in a laboratory/controlled situation is set up with chairs for adults and toys for the child.
• Tinted glass is used so the researchers can observe the child whilst not being seen by the child/parent.
• 3m play sessions with middle class American families
• Mother and child are together in the room playing together with toys.
• A stranger comes into the room, talks to the mother and attempts engagement with the child in the mothers presence.
• Mother leaves the room leaving the child and stranger together, the stranger tries to engage and console the child, stranger anxiety is measured.
• The mother returns according to the distress shown by the child, if the distress is high the mother returns quickly, and the stranger leaves the room. The mother consoles the child.
• The mother then leaves the child alone in the room, separation anxiety is measured..
• The stranger enters the room with the child alone and attempts to play with the child.
• The mother returns and reunion behaviour is measured.

Question 2

AO1 Results- Secure

Answer 2

70%	
Responsive Parenting
Use parents as SB to explore	
Stranger Anxiey- Fine with parent but distress when alone and not comforted by stranger	
Separation anxiety	
Easily comforted on reunion

Question 3

AO1 Results- Insecure Avoidant

Answer 3

20%
Neglectful Parenting	
Don’t use SB, explore without comfort	
No stranger anxiety	
Little/No separation anxiety	
No comfort needed

Question 4

AO1 Results- Insecure Resistant

Answer 4

10%	
Inconsistent Parenting 	
No SB, clingy and don’t explore	
Stranger anxiety	
Lots of separation anxiety	
Difficult to comfort and lashes out on reuoin

Question 5

AO1 Conclusions

Answer 5

There are different types of attachment which show differences in behaviour.

These are caused by the relative sensitivity/responsiveness of the parent (parental sensitivity hypothesis).

Question 6

+AO3 Low EVs

Answer 6

The behaviour being measured is controlled in a laboratory setting, so extraneous variables that might alter the behaviour of the child are controlled or eliminated

Question 7

+AO3 Standardised

Answer 7

The procedure is highly standardised so is replicable and found to be reliable

Question 8

-AO3 Low EcoV

Answer 8

The situation is staged so natural behaviour is not measured in a realistic way (low ecological validity), this limits the generalisability of the research method to real life situations

Question 9

AO3 Ethics

Answer 9

The strange situation procedure may be temporarily distressing for children as they are separated from their caregiver/exposed to a stranger.

The strange situation is more distressing for Japanese children who are not used to being left alone

the parent is empowered to curtail any period and/or abandon the procedure if the childs distress is untenable

Question 10

+AO3 Low DC

Answer 10

Low chance of demand characteristics from the children since they were being observed covertly (and young children are less likely to understand the study and so change their behaviour)

Question 11

+AO3 IRR

Answer 11

Many observers are used to judge the behaviour of the child during the episodes of the procedure, so inter-rater reliability can be established

Question 12

-AO3 Individual Difference

Answer 12

The whole method does not account for the individual differences of children, particularly the strange situation may be a measure of temperament rather than attachment (Kagan’s temperament hypothesis)

Question 13

-AO3 Main & Solomon

Answer 13

Possibly a 4 type which wasn’t accounted for here

Question 14

-AO3 Method

Answer 14

The strange situation may not be an appropriate tool for measuring the behaviour of children already used to separation (through daycare)

Question 15

-AO3 MR

Answer 15

The strange situation is unfamiliar for the child and different findings would be found in the child’s own home so might lead to inconsistent results