Attachment : Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Flashcards
What is Ainsworth’s strange situation?
Ainsworth’s strange situation is an observational method for testing strength of attachment between a caregiver and an infant devised by Ainsworth et al. (197
method of Ainsworth’s strange situation?
Infants aged between 9–18 months were placed in a novel situation of mild stress, namely an unfamiliar room whereby they are left alone, left with a stranger and reunited with their caregiver. Ainsworth observed how the infants behaved through a one-way mirror during a set of eight different scenarios, each lasting approximately three minutes. Observations of the following behaviours were video recorded:
Separation anxiety/distress on separation
Reunion behaviour/seeking proximity
Exploration/safe-base behaviour
Stranger anxiety
First two stages of the strange situation? and behaviors being tested.
THE STRANGE SITUATION (STAGES)
- 1) The mother and infant enter the room. The mother sits on one of the chairs and reads a magazine. The child is placed on the floor and is free to explore the toys.(Exploration)
- 2) A stranger enters and sits on the second chair and talks briefly with the mother. (STRANGER ANXIETY)
3-4 stages of the strange situation? and behaviors being tested.
3) The stranger approaches the infant and attempts to interact and play with them.(STRANGER ANXIETY)
4) The mother leaves the room so that the infant is alone with the stranger. The stranger comforts the baby if they are upset and offers to play with them. (SEPARATION ANXIETY & STRANGER ANXIETY)
5-6 stages of the strange situation? and behaviors being tested.
5) The mother returns and the stranger leaves. (REUNION BEHAVIOUR)
6) The mother departs again leaving the baby briefly alone in the room (Separation anxiety)
7-8 stages of the strange situation? and behaviors being tested.
7) The stranger re-enters and offers to comfort and play with the baby. (STRANGER ANXIETY)
8) The mother returns and the stranger leaves. (REUNION BEHAVIOURS)
What type of observation is the strange situation?
- It is a controlled observation
- controlling extraneous variables e.g :
- the way the stranger behavior = consistent
- All timings - each episode lasted for 3mins x 7 episodes
- video : all more than one observer to allow inter reliability
independent variable would be put into behavioral categories and a tally
What are 3 attachments types Ainsworth?
-Type A : Insecure Avoidant
-Type B: Secure Attachment
-Type C : Insecure resistant
What is an Secure Attachment with separation anxiety, Stranger Anxiety , Reunion Behaviour and Safe base?
- Separation Anxiety - Distressed when mother leaves
- Stranger Anxiety - Avoidant of stranger when alone but friendly when mother present.
- Reunion Behaviour - Positive and happy when mother returns
- Safe Base - Will use the mother as a safe base to explore their environment
% of infants - 68
What is an Resistant Attachment with separation anxiety, Stranger Anxiety , Reunion Behaviour and Safe base?
- Separation Anxiety - Infant shows signs of intense distress
- Stranger Anxiety - Infant avoids the stranger - shows fear of stranger
- Reunion Behaviour - Child approaches mother but resists contact, may even push her away.
- Safe Base - Infant does not explore
% of infants - 12
What is an Avoidant Attachment with separation anxiety, Stranger Anxiety , Reunion Behaviour and Safe base?
- Separation Anxiety - Infant shows no signs of distress when mother leaves
- Stranger Anxiety - Infant is okay with the stranger and plays normally when stranger is present
- Reunion Behaviour - Infant shows little interest when mother returns.
- Safe Base - Explores but does not comeback and use mother as a safe base
% of infants - 20
Evaluation of the Strange Situation
One point against the strange situation is that it lacks ecological validity because it is a controlled observation and therefore is in a control environment so the stranger behaviour is controlled and the mothers too. This is an issue becuase it cant’t be used to represent real life because in real life a mother wouldn’t leave a stranger in the room with their baby.
A point for the strange situation is that it is quite accurate. Standardised procedure allows for replication meaning that it could be repeated lots of time to get an accurate sample and result.
As the study was carried out between 8-20 months the baby had no demand characteristics. However the mother could show demand characteristics which could reduce the validity of the findings.
Factors affecting caregiver sensitivity?
- Securely attached infants have mothers who are more sensitive, accepting and cooperative to the needs of a child.
- Insecure attachment- Mothers are unresponsive to crying and less affectionate
- Insecure Avoidant – Mothers are more rejecting, paying less attention to children.
- Insecure Resistant – Mothers tended to occupied with routine activities when holding the child.
Factors affecting temperament?
Kagan (1984) argues certain personality or temperamental characteristics of a child can impact a mothers responsiveness to a child.
Family circumstances:
o Employment of mum o Illness
o Stress
o Marital Breakup
o Siblings
More evaluations for strange situations
Pros :
Validity: controlled observation so extraneous variables were controlled
Easy to replicate: method has been employed in studies the world over – especially in cross-cultural research
Cons :
Validity: location is different from infant’s normal
environment. However, many infants experience new locations quite naturally e.g. with a babysitter, at play group, etc
- Generalisations: it would be unreasonable to generalise about all infant behaviour as the findings of this study are restricted to it’s sample type (middle-class Americans)
- Ethics: blaming the mother is socially sensitive today.
