Attachment 4 | Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of attachment Flashcards
AO1 What is the Strange Situation and who created it?
The Strange Situation is a controlled observation developed by Mary Ainsworth in 1978 to assess attachment type in infants.
AO1 How many episodes are there in the Strange Situation and what do they involve?
There are 8 episodes that involve separations and reunions with the caregiver and interactions with a stranger.
AO1 What are the four key behaviours measured in the Strange Situation?
Proximity-seeking stranger anxiety separation anxiety and response to reunion.
AO1 What are the three types of attachment identified by Ainsworth?
Secure attachment insecure-avoidant attachment and insecure-resistant attachment.
AO1 What is secure attachment (Type B)?
Children explore happily but regularly return to caregiver show moderate separation and stranger anxiety and are easily comforted on reunion.
AO1 What is insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A)?
Children explore freely do not seek proximity show little separation and stranger anxiety and avoid comfort on reunion.
AO1 What is insecure-resistant attachment (Type C)?
Children seek greater proximity show high separation and stranger anxiety but resist comfort on reunion.
AO1 What was the method of Ainsworth’s 1978 Strange Situation study?
Ainsworth observed 12 to 18 month old infants and their caregivers in a lab setting using an 8-episode structured observation.
AO1 What were the results of Ainsworth’s 1978 Strange Situation study?
70 percent were secure 15 percent were insecure-avoidant and 15 percent were insecure-resistant.
AO1 What did Ainsworth conclude from the Strange Situation?
Attachment type is linked to caregiver sensitivity secure infants have responsive caregivers while insecure types have less responsive or inconsistent caregivers.
AO1 What did van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg study?
They conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies using the Strange Situation across 8 countries to investigate cultural variations in attachment.
AO1 What were the key findings of van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta-analysis?
Secure attachment was the most common type globally but variations existed with insecure-avoidant more common in Germany and insecure-resistant more common in Japan.
AO3 What is a strength of the Strange Situation related to reliability?
It has high inter-observer reliability due to controlled procedures and standardised behavioural categories.
AO3 What evidence supports the reliability of the Strange Situation?
Bick et al found 94 percent observer agreement on attachment classifications showing consistent results.
AO3 What is a limitation of the Strange Situation related to ecological validity?
It lacks ecological validity because it is conducted in an artificial lab setting that may not reflect real-life attachment behaviours.
AO3 What is a strength of van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study?
It has a large sample size across many studies and countries increasing generalisability and reducing the impact of anomalous results.
AO3 What is a limitation of van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study?
It may be culturally biased as the Strange Situation reflects Western attachment norms and may not be valid for collectivist cultures like Japan.
AO3 What is an evaluation of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation related to ethical concerns?
The procedure may cause distress to infants particularly when left alone or approached by a stranger raising ethical issues of protection from harm.
