KEY STUDY: The Strange Situation

Question 1

What did Ainsworth find from this study?

Answer 1

The most common, universal type of attachment was secure attachment.

Question 2

What are the 3 types of attachment classification?

Answer 2

Secure, Insecure- avoidant and Insecure- resistant.

Question 3

What are the key observations from this study?

Answer 3

Separation protest, stranger anxiety, pleasure at reunion.

Question 4

Describe secure attachment.

Answer 4

• A strong contented bond between the infant and caregiver.
• Infant shows distress when separated from caregiver but is easily comforted when reunited.
• Related to healthy development and infant had a positive IWM.

Question 5

Describe Insecure- avoidant attachment.

Answer 5

• Infant tends to avoid social interaction.
• Shows lack of interest in others generally.
• Shows little response to separation and reunion.

Question 6

Describe insecure- resistant attachment.

Answer 6

• Infant tends to both seek and resist attention.

- May cry at separation and also reunion.

Question 7

What is the method of this study?

Answer 7

Controlled lab observation.

Question 8

Describe the procedure of this study.

Answer 8

Study takes 20 mins in total including 8 stages that are observed:

1. parent & infant play.
2. parent sits while infant plays.
3. stranger enters & talks to parent.
4. parent leaves, infant plays, stranger offers comfort if needed.
5. parent returns, greets infant, stranger leaves.
6. parent leaves infant alone.
7. stranger enters & offers comfort.
8. parent returns & greets infant.

Question 9

What are the findings from this study?

Answer 9

• Exploratory behaviours decreases from episode 2 onwards, whereas crying increases.
• Secure: found infant showed separation protest by crying & stranger anxiety but pleasure at reunion.
• Insecure - A: infant may not show any of key observations. Reunion not affective.
• Insecure- R: infant would show separation protest for both reunion and separation. Infant angry and carer inconsistent with comfort.
  Secure attachment was the norm universally

Question 10

What can we conclude from this study?

Answer 10

Ainsworth classified attachment into 3 main categories.
70% of infants from study classified as secure.
30% divided into insecure- A and insecure- R.

Question 11

Evaluation in terms of the criticism of other types of attachment?

Answer 11

• Other research has found that Ainsworth’s Strange situation analysis overlooked a fourth attachment type.
• Main and Solomon analysed over 200 ss videotapes and proposed that there was a fourth type of attachment - insecure- disorganised , which is characterised by a lack of consistent patterns of social behaviour (some infants don’t have a consistent type of attachment).
• These infants lack a coherent strategy for coping with the stress of separation, e.g., they show very strong attachment behaviour which is then followed by avoidance.
• Van Ijzendoom et al further supported Main and Solomon as they found, in their meta-analysis of nearly 80 studies in the US, that 62% secure, 15% insecure - a, 9% insecure-r and 15% insecure disorganised.

Question 12

Explain the strength that Ainsworth’s ss has real world application.

Answer 12

• In situations where disordered patterns of attachment develop between infant and caregiver , intervention strategies can be developed.
• Example: Cooper et al Circle of Security project teaches caregivers to better understand their infants signals of distress and to increase understanding of what it feels like for their infant to feel anxious.
• Project showed a decrease from 60% to 15% in caregivers who were classified as disordered.
• Increase in infants who were classified as securely attached from 32% to 40%.
  Supports research into attachment types because this can be used to improve children’s lives.

Question 13

Explain the criticism that the SS has low internal validity.

Answer 13

• Other researchers have argued whether the ss really measures what it is intended to measure (attachment type) or whether it may be measuring the quality of one particular infant caregiver relationship.
• Main and Weston found that children behave differently depending on which parent they are with.
• Suggests that classification of attachment may not be valid as what we are measuring is one relationship rather than a personal characteristic in an individual.