attachment - strange situation Flashcards
Outline the procedure of the ‘strange situation’
1970
- controlled observation
- standardised procedure.
- 8 stages of 3 minutes.
- 100 middle class americans.
- observed from behind one way mirror
1) mother + child enter
2) child encouraged to explore
3) stranger enters room
4) mother leaves room
5) mother returns
6) stranger leaves
7) mother leaves
8) mother returns
What was the aim of the strange situation?
To observe and classify different attachment types.
What behaviours were recorded during the strange situation experiment?
- Proximity-seeking (infant staying close to the caregiver)
- Exploration/secure base behaviour (infant feeling comfortable enough with the caregiver to explore their surroundings)
- Stranger anxiety (becoming upset in the presence of a stranger)
- Separation anxiety (becoming upset when the caregiver leaves)
- Reunion behaviour (reaction when the caregiver re-enters the room).
What were the findings of the strange situation?
Ainsworth identified 3 distinct attachment types.
70% Secure
15% Avoidant insecure
15% Resistant insecure
Therefore most US children appeared to be securely attached. The results highlight the role of the mother’s behaviour in determining the quality of attachment.
This led to the conceptualisation of the Caregiver Sensitivity Hypothesis, which suggests that a mother’s behaviour towards their infant predicts their attachment type.
Outline a secure attachment
They were happy to explore and use the caregiver as a secure base, although they often went back to them during exploration.
There was moderate stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
They sought and accepted comfort from the caregiver when reunited with them.
Outline an insecure-resistant attachment
They explored less, and showed high stranger and separation anxiety.
Upon reunion, they sought comfort but then rejected it (e.g. trying to push the caregiver away).
Outline an insecure-avoidant attachment
They happily explored, but did not return to the caregiver whilst doing so.
Separation and stranger anxiety was low, and they did not seek comfort from the caregiver upon reunion.
Evaluate the strange situation - culturally biased
The SS was designed by an American according to observations of US children.
Consequently, the criteria used to classify infants are based on US values, relating to child-parent behaviour.
It could be argued that this is Eurocentric, so observations of non-Americans will be judged according to American standards.
E.g. Japanese infants were judged as being resistant due to high levels of distress that were observed but this reflects their lack of experience during the “infant alone” part of the research, rather than an resistant attachment type.
Evaluate the strange situation - inter-rater reliability
The strange situation study involved multiple observers recording the children’s behaviours.
The researchers’ observations were often very similar - a study conducted a strange situation experiment and found that researchers agreed on attachment types around 94% of the time. And this is likely due to the standardised nature of the procedure.
This means that the results have strong inter-rater reliability.
Evaluate the strange situation - ethical issues
There are ethical issues with classifying infants as insecure.
Ainsworth concluded that infants who are classified as insecure are more likely to have trouble with relationships as they grow up.
If a mother takes part in the study and is classified as having an insecure attachment with her child, this may cause her psychological distress, as she may worry she is a bad mother and is setting her child up for a hard life.
This is an issue as to meet psychological guidlines, participants must be protected from psychological harm.
Evaluate the strange situation - demand charachteristics
- mothers knew they were being watched
- may have made them act differently to normal, due to demand characteristics, specifically social desirability bias.
- reduces internal validity of experiment
