ainsworths strange situation

Question 1

what % of infants were insecure avoidant (Type A)

Answer 1

20%

Question 2

what % of infants were secure attachment (type B)

Answer 2

70%

Question 3

what % of infants were insecure resistant ( type C )

Answer 3

10%

Question 4

what are the 3 types of attachment that were found?

Answer 4

insecure avoidant
secure attachment
insecure resistant

Question 5

what is type A attachment?

Answer 5

insecure avoidant

Question 6

what is type B attachment?

Answer 6

secure attachment

Question 7

what is type C attachment ?

Answer 7

inescure resistant

Question 8

what are the characteristics of type A attachment- insecure avoidant

Answer 8

these children explore freely but do not seek proximity

they show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and make little effort to have contact when the caregiver returns

they show little stranger anxiety and dont require comfort at the reunion stage

Question 9

what are the characteristics of type B - secure attachment

Answer 9

these children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver and seek proximity

moderate stranger and seperation anxiety

on reunion securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in reunion stage

• run to caregiver on reunion

Question 10

what are the characteristics of type C insecure resistant

Answer 10

they seek greater proximity than the other 2 attachments so explore less

they show huge seperation and stranger anxiety
they resist comfort from caregiver when reunited

may run to them on reunion but then resist their comfort and push them away

Question 11

what was the procedure of the strange situation?

Answer 11

controlled observation to measure the type of attachment in infants, took place in a controlled environment and were observed from a 2 way mirror

ainsworth looked at separation anxiety, reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety

there were 8 stages of the strange situation an example of 2 stages are mother leaves the room and child is alone and infant is left with stranger

Question 12

ethical issues

Answer 12

protection from harm- children cried and became distressed in the situation so they experienced psychological harm

this is unethical as it could cause long term emotional damage to the child

Question 13

what is the 4th attachment type that was proposed after the strange situation?

Answer 13

type D- insecure disorganised

Question 14

only measured the attachment with mothers

Answer 14

this can mean that the wrong attachment type for the child could have been identified

although they may not be securely attached to the mother they may be securely attached to their father of an extended family member e.g grandma

Question 15

lacks population validity

Answer 15

the study was primarily based on western culture almost all the studies were carried out in America

therefore suffers from cultural bias so we may not be able to generalise the findings to other cultures

this is the case due to the individualist - collectivist divide between western and eastern cultures, alongside cultural differences in upbringing and the experiences which the child is exposed to

Question 16

lacks ecological validity

Answer 16

it was conducted in a lab setting so all the variables were highly controlled and in real life it is unlikely for an infant to go through all 8 stages in a row so it may not represent attachment in day to day life

children could have cried due to confusion rather than stranger or seperation anxiety

Question 17

main et al

Answer 17

ainsworth has good reliability
main et al tested babies at 18 months and then at 6 years old
they found that 100% of the secure babies were still classed as secure at 6 years old
75% of the avoidant babies were still classed as avoidant
this tested consistency over time and shows test-retest reliability

Question 18

is ainsowrth influential?

Answer 18

it has been found to be hugely influential and has become the accepted methodology for measuring attachment worldwide- this is a PARADIGM