Attachment - Ainsworth's Strange Situation Flashcards
What is the Strange Situation?
The Strange Situation is a controlled observation designed to test attachment security. Infants are assessed based on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, being left with a stranger, and being reunited with a caregiver.
What are the key behaviours used to judge attachment in the Strange Situation?
The key behaviours include:
Proximity seeking: Infants with a good attachment will stay fairly close to their caregiver.
Exploration and secure-base behaviour: A good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base.
Stranger anxiety: A sign of becoming closely attached is displaying anxiety when a stranger approaches.
Separation anxiety: Another sign of attachment is protesting at separation from the caregiver.
Response to reunion: The way the child behaves when reunited with the caregiver after separation.
Outline the procedure of the Strange Situation.
The Strange Situation involves a controlled laboratory observation with a two-way mirror to observe infants. It consists of seven episodes, each lasting three minutes:
The child is encouraged to explore (tests exploration and secure base).
A stranger enters and interacts with the child (tests stranger anxiety).
The caregiver leaves, and the stranger stays (tests separation and stranger anxiety).
The caregiver returns, and the stranger leaves (tests reunion behaviour and secure base).
The caregiver leaves the child alone (tests separation anxiety).
The stranger returns (tests stranger anxiety).
The caregiver returns and reunites with the child (tests reunion behaviour).
What were the findings of Ainsworth et al. (1978) regarding attachment types?
Ainsworth identified three main types of attachment:
Secure attachment (Type B): Infants explore happily but return to their caregiver for reassurance. They show moderate stranger and separation anxiety but are easily comforted at reunion. About 60–75% of British toddlers are securely attached.
Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A): Infants show little response to separation and stranger anxiety. They do not seek comfort at the reunion stage. About 20–25% of British toddlers are classified as insecure-avoidant.
Insecure-resistant attachment (Type C): Infants seek greater proximity and show huge stranger and separation distress but resist comfort at reunion. About 3% of British toddlers are classified as insecure-resistant.
What is one evaluation point?
The Strange Situation has high validity, as attachment types identified are strongly predictive of later development. For example, secure attachment is associated with better outcomes, such as success in school and healthier relationships in adulthood. In contrast, insecure-resistant attachment is linked with later behavioural and mental health problems. This supports the validity of the procedure in predicting future outcomes.
What is one evaluation point?
The procedure demonstrates high reliability due to strong inter-rater agreement. Bick et al. (2012) found that observers agreed on attachment type for 94% of tested babies. This is likely because the Strange Situation takes place under controlled conditions, with behavioural categories easy to observe. This consistency suggests the procedure produces reliable results, regardless of the observer.
What is one evaluation point?
The Strange Situation may be culture-bound, as it does not have the same meaning in all cultures. For instance, Takahashi (1990) found it does not work well in Japan, where mothers rarely leave their infants. Japanese babies showed high levels of separation anxiety, making it hard to observe their typical responses. This suggests the Strange Situation may not accurately assess attachment in all cultural contexts.
What is one evaluation point?
Some critics argue that the Strange Situation measures more than just attachment, as it may also reflect the influence of temperament. Kagan (1982) suggested that genetically influenced personality traits (e.g., anxiety) could impact behaviour in the Strange Situation, making attachment behaviours a confounding variable. This raises questions about whether the procedure measures attachment exclusively.
