Attachment - Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Question 1

What is a secure attachment & how was it shown in the strange situation?

Answer 1

The most desirable attachment type, shown by moderate stranger & separation anxiety & comfort at reunion

Question 2

What is an insecure-avoidant attachment & how was it shown in the strange situation?

Answer 2

An attachment style characterised by low anxiety & weak attachment, shown by low stranger & separation anxiety and little response to reunion

Question 3

What is an insecure-resistant attachment & how was it shown in the strange situation?

Answer 3

Characterised by a strong attachment & high anxiety, shown by high levels of stranger & separation anxiety & resistance to comfort at reunion

Question 4

What was the aim of the strange situation?

Answer 4

To be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a mean of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to their caregiver

Question 5

What was the procedure of the strange situation?

Answer 5

A controlled observation in a laboratory where an infant was placed in a room with a two-way mirror so the psychologists could observe the attachment behaviours where they looked for 5 different behaviours demonstrated by the child.

Question 6

What were the 5 different behaviours the psychologists looked out for to judge the attachment style of the children?

Answer 6

Proximity seeking: if the infant would stay close to the caregiver
Secure-base behaviour: seeing if the child was able to explore with confidence, using their caregiver as a safe base
Stranger & separation anxiety: if the child would display anxiety when a stranger entered the room or if the caregiver left
Response to reunion with the caregiver after a short period of time

Question 7

How many episodes were there in the strange situation & how long did they last?

Answer 7

7 episodes lasting 3 minutes each

Question 8

What was the 1st episode and what was it testing?

Answer 8

The child is encouraged to explore -> tests secure base & exploration

Question 9

What was the 2nd episode and what was it testing?

Answer 9

A stranger comes into the room & tries to interact with the child -> tests stranger anxiety

Question 10

What was the 3rd episode and what was it testing?

Answer 10

The caregiver leaves the child with the stranger -> tests separation & stranger anxiety

Question 11

What was the 4th episode and what was it testing?

Answer 11

The caregiver return & the stranger leaves -> tests reunion behaviour & secure base/exploration

Question 12

What was the 5th episode and what was it testing?

Answer 12

The caregiver leaves the child alone -> tests separation anxiety

Question 13

What was the 6th episode and what was it testing?

Answer 13

The stranger returns -> tests stranger anxiety

Question 14

What was the 7th episode and what was it testing?

Answer 14

The caregiver returns and is reunited with the child -> tests reunion behaviour

Question 15

What were the findings of the strange situation?

Answer 15

Secure attachment -> 60-75% of British toddlers
Insecure-avoidant attachment -> 20-25% of British toddlers
Insecure-resistant attachment -> 3% of British toddlers

Question 16

What are some strengths of the strange situation?

Answer 16

Support for validity -> attachment type defined by the strange situation is strongly predictive of future development e.g. insecure-resistant attachment associated with bullying at school (ward et al) - shows strange situation can explain these outcomes

Good reliability -> good inter-rater reliability as other observers were able to agree with the attachment type defined to each child as the observation took place under controlled conditions & the behavioural categories were easy to observe - means that there is confidence that the attachment type given to each child doesn’t depend on who observed them

Question 17

What is a limitation of the strange situation?

Answer 17

Culture bound -> the test may have different meanings in different parts of the world as childhood experiences are different globally and caregivers from different cultures can behave differently in the strange situation

E.g. Takahashi -> Japanese children are rarely separated from their mothers & in reunion the mothers rushed to scoop their babies up so the test doesn’t really work in that culture