Ainsworths “strange situation” Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

what were the range of behaviours that indicated attachment strength?

A
  • proximity to the mother
  • exploration/ safe base behaviour
  • stranger anxiety
  • separation anxiety
  • reuinion response
  • sensitive responsiveness of the mother to the infants needs
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2
Q

what is the insecure avoidant attachment type (A)?

A
  • keep distance from mum
  • not using as secure base and explore freely
  • low stranger anxiety
  • low separation anxiety
  • indifferent when mum returns not trying to gain comfort
  • show little responsiveness to babies needs
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3
Q

what is secure attachment type (B)?

A
  • use mums as safe base to explore
  • moderate stranger anxiety
  • show separation anxiety
  • happy reunion response= settle back to exploring quickly
  • show sentive responsiveness
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4
Q

what is insecure resistant attachment type(C)?

A
  • don’t explore + clingy
  • high stranger anxiety
  • high separation anxiety
  • when mum returns= mixed emotions
  • crave and reject their attention
  • mums inconsistent with sensitive responsiveness
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5
Q

Ainsworth(1970-73): procedure

A
  • 106 infants+mums in structured observation
  • controlled lab setting for 3 mins
  • 2 observed behind 1 way mirror recorded behaviour @ each stage
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6
Q

Episode 1:

A
  • experimenter inteoduces mother and baby to experimental room and leaves
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7
Q

Episode 2:

A
  • baby explores freely
  • mother doesn’t interact
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8
Q

Episode 3:

A
  • stranger enters
  • silent
  • talks to mum
  • approaches baby
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9
Q

Episode 4:

A
  • first separation episode
  • stranger interacts w baby
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10
Q

Episode 5:

A
  • first reuinion epsiode
  • mother greets and/or comforts baby
  • tries to settle to play
  • mother leaves
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11
Q

Episode 6:

A
  • second separation episode
  • baby alone
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12
Q

Episode 7:

A
  • second separation continues
  • stranger re enters
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13
Q

Episode 8:

A
  • second reunion episode
  • mum enters
  • stranger leaves
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14
Q

Ainsworth (1970-73): Findings

A
  • found 3 attachment types that correlated with sensitive responsiveness of the mother
  • 66%= secure
  • 22%= insecure avoidant
  • 12%= insecure resistant
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15
Q

Evaluting the strange situation: strength, standardised procedure

A
  • high controlled lab experiment
  • standardised procedure
  • clear behavioural categories
  • systematic and consistent approach at studying attachment
  • able to replicate study
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16
Q

Evaluating the strange situation: strength, predictive validity

A
  • attachment styles identified have predictive validity
  • secure= better social, emotional, academic outcomes in child and adult hood
17
Q

Evaluating the strange situation: strength, mccarthys research

A
  • studies 40 women assessed using the strange situtation as children
  • those with secure long lasting adult friendships= securely attached
18
Q

Evaluating the strange situation: limitation, culture-bound test

A
  • not applicable in other cultures
  • imposed etic= apply their own cultural standards to every culture
  • other cultures kids more independent or have many caregivers
  • could be misinterpreted as insecure attachment
19
Q

Evaluating the strange situation: limitation, lack ecological validity

A
  • highly artificial
  • lack ecological validity as done in lab
  • mum knows behaviour is being monitored
  • shows more sensitive responsiveness bc of demand characteristics
20
Q

Evaluating the strange situation: limitations, may not measure attachment but temperament

A
  • Kagans temperament hypothesis= kids inherit high or low reactive temperament
  • high= distressed babies
  • low= low distress
  • biological explanation explains varying infant behaviour
  • mums behaviour also explained= struggle to interact w highly reactive babies
21
Q

ljenzdoorn’s (1988): procedure

A
  • meta analysed 2000 infants from 32 studies from 8 countries
  • classified babies and mums using strange situation
22
Q

ljzendoorn’s findings: general patterns

A
  • secure attchment= most common in all countries
  • insecure resistant= least common
  • avoidant= more common in individualistic western cultures
  • resistant= more common in collectivist non- western countries
  • more variation within countries than between
23
Q

ljzendoorn’s findings: individual

A
  • germany= most insecure avoidant 35%
  • japan= most insecure resistant 27%
  • china= least secure 50%
  • Uk= avoidant 22%
  • Uk= secure 75%
  • Uk= resistant 3%
24
Q

what does ljzendoorn’s research suggest?

A
  • secure most common in all countries
  • potentially has a biological basis
  • variations parenting style could explain
  • Germany: parents encourage non clingy behaviour, little distress= avoidant
  • Japen: spend lots of time with infants= extreme resistant reactions to separations
25
Q

evaluating ljzendoorn: limitations, lack temporal validity

A
  • Simonelli (2014) measured attachment using the strange situation in modern italy
  • compared to historical italian families= lower secure and high resistant
  • change to health coping mechanisms due to demands of modern life
  • adjusting to frequent absent mother
26
Q

evaluating ljzendoorn: strength, secure most common for all countries

A
  • secure most dominant for all countries
  • evidence for bowlbys theory
  • biological drive to parent in a way that produces secure attachments
27
Q

evaluating ljzendoorn: limitation, lack representativeness

A
  • most studies represented only had 1 study w small sample
  • sample not representative of country’s population
  • cultures infants aren’t homogenous
  • bc more variation found within countries than between countries
28
Q

Evaluting ljzendoorn: strength, meta analysis included large sample

A
  • large sample used in meta analysis
  • poorly done study or unusual results have small effect
  • increase confidence on validity of overall findings
29
Q

Evaluting ljzendoorn: limitation, ethnocentrism

A
  • using the strang situation to assess attachment= ethnocentrism
  • study may suffer cultural bias from UK and US
  • these cultures viewed as superior “secure”
  • more prominent attachment in other cultures= “insecure”
  • taking an emic concept and imposing etic
    concept to wider world