Attachment - The Strange Situation

Question 1

What is the Strange Situation? (1970s)

Answer 1

• This is a controlled observation designed to measure the security of attachment that a child displays towards a caregiver.
• It takes place in a room with quite controlled conditions (i.e. a laboratory).
• About 100 middle-class American infants and their mothers took part.
• It consisted of a series of structured situations in a specific order.

Question 2

What was the aim of the Strange Situation?

Answer 2

• The procedure involves series of eight episodes lasting approximately 3 minutes each, whereby a mother, child and stranger are introduced, separated and reunited
• It aimed to observe the security of attachment in the context of an infant and caregiver
• The security of attachment in one- to two-year-olds were investigated using the strange situation paradigm, in order to determine the nature of attachment behaviors and styles of attachment

Question 3

What is the procedure of the Strange Situation?

Answer 3

• The experiment is set up in a small room with one way glass so the behavior of the infant can be observed covertly. Infants were aged between 12 and 18 months. The sample comprised of 100 middle-class American families.
• The procedure, known as the ‘Strange Situation,’ was conducted by observing the behavior of the infant in a series of eight episodes lasting approximately 3 minutes each
• The Strange Situation classifications (i.e., attachment styles) are based primarily on four interaction behaviors directed toward the mother in the two reunion episodes (Ep. 5 & Ep. 8).
  1. Proximity and contacting seeking
  2. Contact maintaining
  3. Avoidance of proximity and contact
  4. Resistance to contact and comforting
• The observer notes down the behavior displayed during 15-second intervals and scores the behavior for intensity on a scale of 1 to 7.

Other behaviors observed included:

• Exploratory behaviors e.g., moving around the room, playing with toys, looking around the room.
• Search behaviors, e.g., following mother to the door, banging on the door, orienting to the door, looking at the door, going to mother’s empty chair, looking at mother’s empty chair.
• Affect Displays negative, e.g., crying, smiling.

Question 4

What are the 8 episodes of the procedure?

Answer 4

(1) Mother, baby, and experimenter (lasts less than one minute).
(2) Mother and baby alone.
(3) A stranger joins the mother and infant.
(4) Mother leaves baby and stranger alone.
(5) Mother returns and stranger leaves.
(6) Mother leaves; infant left completely alone.
(7) Stranger returns.
(8) Mother returns and the stranger leaves.

Question 5

Episode 1 - detail

Answer 5

What happens -
- Child and caregiver enter an unfamiliar playroom

What this tests -
- Exploration and secure-base behaviour; the infant will seek reassurance from mother and explore the new environment

Question 6

Episode 2 - detail

Answer 6

What happens -
- The caregiver takes the infant into the laboratory room and they are left to explore

What this tests -
- Exploration and secure-base behaviour; the infant will seek reassurance from mother and explore the new environment

Question 7

Episode 3 - detail

Answer 7

What happens -
The stranger enters and interacts with the infant

What this tests -
- Stranger anxiety - distress at unfamiliar people approaching from a young infant

Question 8

Episode 4 - detail

Answer 8

What happens -
- The caregiver leaves unobtrusively and stranger interacts with infant

What this tests -
- Separation anxiety (distress at isolation from caregiver) and stranger anxiety

Question 9

Episode 5 - detail

Answer 9

What happens -
- The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves

What this tests -
- Reunion behaviour, exploration and secure base behaviour (exploring whilst receiving reassurance)

Question 10

Episode 6 - detail

Answer 10

What happens -
- The caregiver leaves so the infant is alone

What this tests -
- Separation anxiety

Question 11

Episode 7 - detail

Answer 11

What happens -
- A stranger enters and approaches the infant

What this tests -
- Stranger anxiety

Question 12

Episode 8 - detail

Answer 12

What happens -
- The caregiver returns and greets the infant

What this tests -
- Reunion behaviour

Question 13

What were the findings / results of the study?

Answer 13

• Ainsworth (1970) identified three main attachment styles, secure (type B), insecure avoidant (type A) and insecure ambivalent/resistant (type C). She concluded that these attachment styles were the result of early interactions with the mother.
• A fourth attachment style known as disorganized was later identified (Main, & Solomon, 1990).

Question 14

Type A - Insecure-Avoidant Attachment (21% of Ainsworth’s sample, 20-25% in the UK)

Answer 14

• Insecure avoidant children do not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment.
• They are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally (Behrens, Hesse, & Main, 2007).
• They do not seek contact with the attachment figure when distressed. Such children are likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive and rejecting of their needs (Ainsworth, 1979).
• The attachment figure may withdraw from helping during difficult tasks (Stevenson-Hinde, & Verschueren, 2002) and is often unavailable during times of emotional distress.
• These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour.
• They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and they make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns.
• They also show little stranger anxiety.
• They do not require comfort at the reunion stage.

Question 15

Type B - Secure Attachment (64% in Ainsworth’s sample, 60-75% of the UK)

Answer 15

• Securely attached children comprised the majority of the sample in Ainsworth’s (1971, 1978) studies.
• Such children feel confident that the attachment figure will be available to meet their needs. They use the attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment and seek the attachment figure in times of distress (Main, & Cassidy, 1988).
• Securely attached infants are easily soothed by the attachment figure when upset. Infants develop a secure attachment when the caregiver is sensitive to their signals, and responds appropriately to their needs.
• According to Bowlby (1980), an individual who has experienced a secure attachment ‘is likely to possess a representational model of attachment figures(s) as being available, responsive, and helpful’ (Bowlby, 1980)
• These children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base behaviour).
• They usually show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety.
• They require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage.

Question 16

Type C - Insecure-Resistant/Ambivalent Attachment (15% of Ainsworth’s sample, 3% in the UK)

Answer 16

• The third attachment style identified by Ainsworth (1970) was insecure ambivalent (also called insecure resistant).
• Here children adopt an ambivalent behavioral style towards the attachment figure. The child will commonly exhibit clingy and dependent behavior, but will be rejecting the attachment figure when they engage in interaction.
• The child fails to develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure. Accordingly, they exhibit difficulty moving away from the attachment figure to explore novel surroundings.
• When distressed they are difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure. This behavior results from an inconsistent level of response to their needs from the primary caregiver
• These children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less.
• They show huge stranger and separation distress, but they resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver

Question 17

What was the conclusion of the Strange Situation?

Answer 17

Ainsworth (1978) suggested the ‘caregiver sensitivity hypothesis’ as an explanation for different attachment types. Ainsworth’s maternal sensitivity hypothesis argues that a child’s attachment style is dependent on the behavior their mother shows towards them.

• ‘Sensitive’ mothers are responsive to the child’s needs and respond to their moods and feelings correctly.
• Sensitive mothers are more likely to have securely attached children.
• In contrast, mothers who are less sensitive towards their child, for example, those who respond to the child’s needs incorrectly or who are impatient or ignore the child, are likely to have insecurely attached children.
• For example, securely attached infant are associated with sensitive and responsive primary care. Insecure ambivalent attached infants are associated with inconsistent primary care. Sometimes the child’s needs and met, and sometimes they are ignored by the mother / father.
• Insecure-avoidant infants are associated with unresponsive primary care. The child comes to believe that communication of needs has no influence on the mother/father.
• Ainsworth’s (1971, 1978) findings provided the first empirical evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory.
• For example, securely attached children develop a positive working model of themselves and have mental representations of others as being helpful while viewing themselves as worthy of respect (Jacobsen, & Hoffman, 1997).
• Avoidant children think themselves unworthy and unacceptable, caused by a rejecting primary caregiver (Larose, & Bernier, 2001). Ambivalent children have a negative self-image and exaggerate their emotional responses as a way to gain attention (Kobak et al., 1993).
• Accordingly, insecure attachment styles are associated with an increased risk of social and emotional behavioral problems via the internal working model

Question 18

Evaluation of Ainsworth’s procedure - supporting theories and strengths

Answer 18

1. Attachment type as defined by the Strange Situation is strongly perceived of later development - babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. Insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes, including bullying in later childhood and adult mental health problems
   - It suggests that attachment styles are relevant even the adulthood and have an effect on development and future behaviour - it has high external validity
2. The Strange Situation shows very good inter-reliability; when different observers watch the same children in the Strange Situation, they generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with. This may be because the Strange Situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe. Research has found agreement on attachment type for 94% of tested babies in a team of trained observers
   - Reliable; results can be trusted and we can be confident the attachment style identified is not dependent on the observer and so we can be confident about the distinction between the types

Question 19

Evaluation of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation - Real World Applications

Answer 19

1. In situations where disordered patterns of attachment develop between infant and caregiver, intervention strategies can be developed - for example, teaching caregivers to better understand their infant’s signals of distress and to increase their understanding of what it feels like to feel anxious. It has been found that there was a decrease in caregivers classified as disordered (60%-15%) and an increase in infants classified as securely attached (32%-40%)
   - This supports the attachment types because research can be used to improve children’s lives - strength

Question 20

Evaluation of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation - Weaknesses

Answer 20

1. The Strange Situation may not have the same meaning in other cultures - it may be a culture-bound test. This is because cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the Strange Situation - additionally, caregivers from different cultures behave differently in the Strange Situation - Takashi (1990) noted that the test doesn’t really work in Japan, because Japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their babies that there are very high levels of separation anxiety
   - The sample of the study means that the results are only applicable to that culture - results can therefore not be completely generalised and so it lacks external validity and is an incomplete explanation of attachment styles of identification method of them
   - e.g. inappropriate classification of an insecurely attached child on the basis of cultural difference or different child rearing practices rather than them genuinely being Type A
2. There is a fourth type of attachment called insecure-disorganised (Type D) - disorganised children display an odd mixture of resistant and avoidant behaviours - they show very strong attachment behaviour which is suddenly followed by avoidance or looking fearful towards their caregiver - this undermines the theory
   - Ainsworth’s attachment theories are limited in their explanation and do not accomodate or subgroups of attachment style or more complex styles