ainsworths strange situation: types of attachment

Question 1

context to the strange situation

Answer 1

the strange situation was developed by mary ainsworth in 1969. the aim was to be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver.

Question 2

what is the strange situation

Answer 2

a controlled observation designed to test attachment security. infants are assessed on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, with a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver.

it takes place in a room with controlled conditions i.e. a laboratory with a two-way mirror through which psychologists can observe the infant’s behaviour.

Question 3

the procedure of the strange situation

Answer 3

1. the child is encouraged to explore the unfamiliar playroom; tests exploration and secure base
2. a stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child; stranger anxiety
3. the caregiver leaves the child and stranger together; separation and stranger anxiety
4. the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves; reunion behaviour and exploration/ secure base
5. the caregiver leaves the child alone; separation anxiety
6. the stranger returns; stranger anxiety
7. the caregiver returns and is reunited with the child; reunion behaviour

Question 4

the findings

Answer 4

ainsowrth et al found that there were three distinct patterns in the way that infants behaved. she identified three main types of attachment:

• secure attachment (type B)
• insecure-avoidant attachment (type A)
• insecure-resistant attachment (type C)

Question 5

type B

Answer 5

• explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base)
• moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety
• require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage
• 66% of british toddlers

SECURE

Question 6

type A

Answer 6

• explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
• show little or no reaction when caregiver leaves and make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns
• little stranger anxiety
• do not require comfort at the reunion stage
• 22%

AVOIDANT

Question 7

type C

Answer 7

• seek greater proximity than others and so explore less
• huge stranger and separation distress but resist comfort when reunited with their carer.
• 3%

RESISTANT

Question 8

evaluation points

Answer 8

• one more attachment type
• good reliability
• test may be culture-bound

Question 9

weakness

Answer 9

one more attachment type.

main and solomon 1986 pointed out that a minority of children display atypical attachments that do not fall within types A, B or C behaviour. this atypical attachment is known as disorganised attachment.

they display an odd mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours.

Question 10

strength

Answer 10

good reliability.

• inter-rater reliability; degree of agreement among independent observers.
• controlled conditions and behavioural categories are easy to observe

bick et al 2012 looked at inter-rater reliability in a team of trained strange situation observers and found agreement on attachment type for 94% of tested babies.

Question 11

weakness

Answer 11

test may be culture bound.

cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the strange situation. caregivers from different cultures behave differently in the strange situation.

i.e. does not work in japan because japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their babies, there are very high levels of separation anxiety.

ethnocentric -> it can lead to biased interpretations and conclusions, as well as overlooking important cultural differences.