Ainsworth strange situations

Question 1

What did Ainsworth and Bell do? (1-1)

Answer 1

conducted a controlled observation recording the reactions of a child and mother (caregiver), who were introduced to a strange room with toys.

Question 2

What was the sample like in Strange situations? How was it observed?

Answer 2

In the strange situation about 100 middle-class American infants and their mothers took part. The infant’s behavior was observed during a set of pre-determined activities.

Question 3

What was the procedure for strange situations? (3)

Answer 3

• involved the child experiencing eight ‘episodes’ of approximately 3 minutes each.
• Placed infants in conditions of mild stress in unfamiliar settings to observe 4 different types of behaviour
• The child is observed playing for 20 minutes while caregivers and strangers enter and leave the room, recreating the flow of the familiar and unfamiliar presence in most children’s lives.

Question 4

What did observers note in strange situation? (4)

Answer 4

• Observers noted the child’s willingness to explore
• separation anxiety,
• stranger anxiety
• reunion behavior.

Question 5

Name the 3 types of attachments that Ainsworth identified from the study

Answer 5

Insecure-Resistant
Secure Attachment
Insecure-Avoidant

Question 6

What was the percentage of infants that were insecure-resistant?

Answer 6

12%

Question 7

What was the percentage of infants that were securely attached?

Answer 7

66%

Question 8

What was the percentage of infants that were insecure-avoidant?

Answer 8

22%

Question 9

Describe the results of insecure-resistant infants

Answer 9

1. Infant doesn’t explore = clings to mother
2. High separation anxiety (extremely distressed/violent)
3. High stranger anxiety
4. Infant not easily comforted by mother - seeks but resists attempts of mother’s comfort on reunion

Question 10

Describe the results of securely attached infants

Answer 10

1. Infant explores unfamiliar environment but return to mother to use her safe-base
2. Moderate separation anxiety
3. Moderate stranger anxiety
4. Infant is happy/soothed when reunited with caregiver & seeks proximity

Question 11

Describe the results of insecure-avoidant infants

Answer 11

1. Infant explores but doesn’t return to mother/use her as safe base
2. Low separation anxiety (not concerned when mother leaves)
3. Low stranger anxiety - shows little preference between mother and stranger
4. Shows little reaction upon mother returning/ignores her + avoids intimacy

Question 12

When does secure attachment occur?

Answer 12

This type of attachment occurs because the mother meets the emotional needs of the infant.

Question 13

When does insecure-resistant attachment occur?

Answer 13

This type of attachment occurs because the mother sometime meets the needs of the infant and sometimes ignores their emotional needs, i.e. the mother’s behavior is inconsistent.

Question 14

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Elaborate on the +ve evaluation point: High Reliability (5)

Answer 14

+ HIGH RELIABILITY:

• Observations took place under strict and controlled methods using predetermined behavioural categories= standardised procedure involving the 8 episodes of the mother and stranger entering the leaving the room.
• Several observers - agreement on attachment classifications could be ensured
• Ainsworth found 94% agreement between observers ∴ inter-observer reliability = high
• Allows researchers to replicate study to test reliability of findings
• & for extraneous variable to be controlled

Question 15

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Elaborate on the -ve evaluation point: Classification System of Attachment Types is Incomplete (2 STUDIES)

Answer 15

• Main and Solomon (1986) found 4th attachment type = insecure-disorganised (type D)
• Observed 200+ strange situation recordings & found some infants displayed inconsistent patterns of behaviour
  + Van Ijzendoorn et al. (1999) found 15% of infants were type D - from meta-analysis of studies from US
• ∴ Ainsworth’s research didn’t offer complete explanation to attachment & how/why these differences in attachments form

Question 16

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Elaborate on the -ve evaluation point: Lacks Internal Validity (5)

Answer 16

• Measured relationship type with 1 of primary attachment figures = usually mother
• If child more attached to father = study wrongly assumed children may be closer to mother
• ∴ study lacks internal validity = may not be measuring attachment styles with primary caregiver = skewing results
• Parents knew they were being observed = demand characteristics
• Mothers may been overly affectionate = believed it was demanded of them= social desirability bias in this observation
  = alters children’s behaviour = lowers internal validity

Question 17

When does insecure-avoidant attachment occur?

Answer 17

This type of attachment occurs because the mother ignores the emotional needs of the infant

Question 18

What other validity type does strange situation study lack and why? (2)

Answer 18

• A problem of the study is that it lacks of population validity. The original study used American infants. The study tells us about how this particular group behaves and cannot be generalised to the wider population and other cultures.
• Another criticism of the study is that it has low ecological validity, and the results may not be applicable outside of the lab. The environment of the study was controlled and the eight scripted stages of the procedure (e.g. mum and stranger entering and leaving the room at set times) would be unlikely to happen in real life.