Attachment - Strange situation Flashcards
What was strange situation developed by?
Mary Ainsworth and Silvia Bell (1970)
What was the aim of strange situation?
To observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a baby’s attachment to a caregiver
What is strange situation?
A controlled observation with a 2 way mirror and cameras so that behaviour can be observed
What is proximity seeking?
When a baby with good quality attachment will stay fairly close to a caregiver
What is exploration and secure-base behaviour?
When good attachment enables the baby to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base
What is stranger anxiety?
One of the signs of becoming closely attached is display of anxiety when a stranger approaches
What is seperation anxiety?
Another sign of becoming attached is to protest at seperation from the caregiver
What is response to union?
When babies who are securely attached greet the caregiver’s return with pleasure and seek comfort
What is step 1 of strange situation?
The baby is encouraged to explore - tests exploration and secure base
What is step 2 of strange situation?
A stranger comes in, talks to the caregiver and approaches the baby - tests stranger anxiety
What is step 3 of strange situation?
The caregiver leaves the baby and stranger together - tests seperation and stranger anxiety
What is step 4 of strange situation?
The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour and exploration/secure base
What is step 5 of strange situation?
The caregiver leaves the baby alone - tests seperation anxiety
What is step 6 of strange situation?
The stranger returns - tests stranger anxiety
What is step 7 of strange situation?
The caregiver returns as is reunited with the baby - tests reunion behaviour
What are the 3 types of main attachment identified by Ainsworth (1978)?
Secure attachment (type B)
Insecure-avoidment attachment (type A)
Insecure-resistant attachment (type C)
What are the characteristics of secure attachment (type B)?
Babies explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver
Show moderate seperation distress and moderate stranger anxiety
Require and accept comfort in the reunion stage
What percentage of the british population are insecure-avoidment attachment (type A)?
20-25%
What are the characteristics of insecure-avoidment attachment (type A)?
Babies explore freely but do not seek proximity
Show little reaction to stranger or seperation anxiety
Make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns
What percentage of the british population are securely attached (type B)?
60-75%
What are the characteristics of insecure-resistant attachment (type C)?
Babies seek greater proximity and thus explore less
Show high levels of stranger and seperation anxiety
Resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver
What percentage of the british population are insecure-resistant attachment (type C)?
3%
What is one strength of strange situation?
Good predictive validity
What is the evaluation of strange situation having good predictive validity?
P: its outcome predicts a number of apsects of the baby’s later development
E: Children assessed as type B tend to have a better outcome than others
E: McCormick (2016) - better achievement in school
E: Ward (2006) - securely attached babies have better mental health
L: Strange situation measures something real and meaningful in a baby’s development
What is another strength of strange situation?
Good reliability
What is the evaluation of strange situation having good reliability?
P: Good inter-rater reliability
E: Johanna Bick (2012) - tested inter-rater reliability anf found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
E: This high level of reliability may be because the procedure takes place under controlled conditions
L: Can be confident that attachment type is not dependent on subjective judgements
What is one limitation of strange situation?
The test may be culture bound
What is the evaluation of strange situation being culture bound?
P: May not be a valid measure of attachment
E: Babies have different experiences in different cultures and these experiences may affect their responses to the strange situation
E: Keiko Takahashi (1986) studied babies in Japan and found that babies displayed high levels of seperation anxiety
E: Takahashi (1990) suggests that this was because mother-babay seperation is rare in Japan
L: Difficult to know what strange situation is measuring when used outside Europe and US
