LT5: Strange situation

Question 1

Who’s work is the strange situation?

Answer 1

Mary Ainsworth.

Question 2

In her early research what and where did she investigate?

Answer 2

Ainsworth investigated mother-child relationships in six villages in Uganda. She observed and interviewed 26 mothers and their infants over many moths and for several hours at a time in their natural environment.

Question 3

In her early research what did she feel that her observations supported?

Answer 3

She felt that the observations supported Bowlby’s idea of the mother being a safe base and noticed that the responsiveness of the mother affected the reactions of the child.

Question 4

What attachment types did she find in her early research?

Answer 4

Securely attached - children were contented and pacified by the presence of the mother, using her as a safe base.
Insecurely attached - children were less inclined to explore and cried frequently, even when their mother was present.
Not yet attached - children were indifferent to the presence of their mother.

Question 5

What did she conclude from her early research?

Answer 5

She concluded that mothers who were responsive to the infants needs were more likely to have a secure attachment. She called this maternal sensitivity.

Question 6

What is the strange situation procedure and what does it involve?

Answer 6

It is a procedure developed by Ainsworth to study individual differences in attachment types between child and caregiver. It involves a structured observation using a standardised procedure in a controlled setting.

Question 7

What is the observation of in the strange situation procedure? With what particular focus?

Answer 7

It is the observation of the parent-child interactions in a room with toys and chairs, over a series of 8 three-minute episodes. Particular focus is given to observing the child’s reaction when reunited and separated with their mother, measuring stranger anxiety and separation anxiety in the child.

Question 8

In the strange situation procedure when can the mother be re-united before the time is up?

Answer 8

If the mother or the researcher believes that the child is becoming too distressed during the separation period then the mother can go back into the room and re-join her child before the scheduled time.

Question 9

In the strange situation procedure how are they observed?

Answer 9

the researcher observes the interactions through a one-way mirror/tinted glass so they are not aware of being observed and they can categorise the attachment into secure, anxious-avoidant and anxious-resistant.

Question 10

Describe the first stage of the strange situation procedure.

Answer 10

Mother and baby play - the mother and the baby are shown into the experimental room. It has two chairs and a range of toys for the infant to play with. As they settle, the mother plays with her baby.

Question 11

Describe the second stage of the strange situation procedure. (After mother and baby play stage)

Answer 11

Baby is left to explore - the mother stops playing with the child and sits on one of the chairs. The infant is left to explore the room freely and continue playing with the toys on their own.

Question 12

Describe the third stage of the strange situation procedure. (After baby left to explore stage)

Answer 12

Stranger enters the room - A stranger enters the room and sits down, not engaging with the mother or the baby, but after a few minutes the stranger tries to interact with the child.

Question 13

Describe the forth stage of the strange situation procedure. (After stranger enters the room stage)

Answer 13

First separation - mother leaves the room. The mother exists the room leaving the child with the stranger, if the infant is distressed (usually), the stranger will attempt to comfort them. STRANGER ANXIETY IS MEASURED.

Question 14

Describe the fifth stage of the strange situation procedure. (After first separation stage)

Answer 14

First reunion - mother re-enters the room and the stranger leaves. As the mother comes back into the room, the stranger leaves. The mother will console the child, hopefully ending their distress by their return. Depending on how distressed the child is depends how quickly the mother returns.

Question 15

Describe the sixth stage of the strange situation procedure. (After first reunion stage)

Answer 15

Second separation - mother leaves the room. The mother leaves the room, leaving he child all alone in the room, this will again cause distress. SEPARATION ANXIETY IS MEASURED.

Question 16

Describe the seventh stage of the strange situation procedure. (After second separation stage)

Answer 16

Stranger returns - the stranger re-enters the room and tries to comfort the child.

Question 17

Describe the eighth stage of the strange situation procedure. (After stranger re enters stage)

Answer 17

Second reunion - mother re enters the room and the stranger leaves the room. As with the previous reunion, the mother comes back into the room and comforts the child and the stranger leaves. REUNION BEHAVIOUR IS MEASURED.

Question 18

What are the 3 attachment types that Ainsworth identified using the strange situation procedure in her study in Baltimore?

Answer 18

1. Secure attachment - mothers showed maternal sensitivity and were responsive to the child’s needs and interacted with their child formed this attachment.
2. Anxious - avoidant attachment - the child feels rejected by the mother. the child feels unworthy.
3. Anxious - resistant attachment - the mother is inconsistent in responding to the child’s needs e.g. sometimes responding positively and sometimes negatively.

Question 19

In Ainsworth’s Baltimore experiment what was the sample?

Answer 19

56 middle class infants between 12-18 months were observed in the strange situation procedure.

Question 20

In the Baltimore study what was the main focuses of the observation?

Answer 20

Observers focused particularly on how the child responded to the stranger, the separation from the mother and the reunion with the mother.

Question 21

In the Baltimore strange situation experiment what % was found for each attachment type?

Answer 21

Secure attachment (type B) 65%
Anxious-avoidant (Type A) 23%
Anxious-resistant (Type C) 12%

Question 22

For securely attached children what was their reaction to the stranger?

Answer 22

Is indifferent to the stranger when the mother is present and ignores the stranger when the mother leaves (stranger fear).

Question 23

For securely attached children what was their reaction to the separation from the mother?

Answer 23

Upset and distressed when the mother leaves them.

Question 24

For securely attached children what was their reaction to the reunion with the mother?

Answer 24

Seeks comfort and is happy when the mother returns and is quickly settled and calmed in both the first and second reunion. Begins to explore again.

Question 25

For anxious-avoidant attached children what was their reaction to the stranger?

Answer 25

Play’s with the stranger regardless of the mothers presence and does not check for the mothers presence.

Question 26

For anxious-avoidant attached children what was their reaction to the separation from the mother?

Answer 26

Is not distressed at the mothers absence and can seek comfort from the stranger if they need it.

Question 27

For anxious-avoidant attached children what was their reaction to the reunion with the mother?

Answer 27

Shows no interest at the return of the mother.

Question 28

For anxious-resistant attached children what was their reaction to the stranger?

Answer 28

Shows fear of the stranger and avoids the stranger with or without the mothers presence.

Question 29

For anxious-resistant attached children what was their reaction to the separation with the mother?

Answer 29

The child is extremely distressed at the mother’s absence.

Question 30

For anxious-resistant attached children what was their reaction to the reunion with the mother?

Answer 30

Child wants comfort from the mother but may push her away when approached and resists comfort even when it is desired.

Question 31

What is a strength of the strange situation procedure and Ainsworths research: reliability

Answer 31

The strange situation is high in reliability because it uses standardised procedures and strong controls e.g. 8 timed episodes lasting 3 minutes each and an observation schedule, meaning the task can be replicated and extraneous variables controlled. Furthermore, many observers were used in the procedure to judge the behaviour of the child during the episodes, therefore inter-rater reliability can be established. HOWEVER, the strange situation may suffer from researcher bias because Ainsworth and her researchers may have been biased and interpret the child’s behaviour according to their prior assumptions based on previous research.

Question 32

What is a strength of the strange situation procedure and Ainsworths research: supporting evidence X2

Answer 32

Supporting evidence from Van Lijzendoorn and Kroonenberg carried out meta-analysis of 38 cross-cultural studies using the strange situation procedure and found that secure attachment was the main attachment type, which demonstrates reliability in their findings.
Also, Ainsworth’s naturalistic observations in Baltimore (1969) and Uganda studying babies and mothers in their homes, supports her conclusions and findings of the strange situation increasing its validity.

Question 33

What is a weakness of the strange situation procedure and Ainsworths research: ecological validity

Answer 33

It has low ecological validity as the child is placed in a staged situation and artificial environment, meaning the child’s behaviour may not be spontaneous or natural. For example. a child may cry when left alone in an unfamiliar environment rather than because of the attachment with the mother. This limits generalisability as it is not measuring natural behaviour so cannot be generalised to real life situations such as going to nursery.

Question 34

What is a weakness of the strange situation procedure and Ainsworths research: ethics

Answer 34

The strange situation has ethical issue as it fails to protect the children from harm. A child who has become secure or resistant attachment type is distressed when separated from the mother. However, if the child became too distressed then the child was reunited with the mother.

Question 35

What is a weakness of the strange situation procedure and Ainsworths research: individual differences

Answer 35

The strange situation procedure and Ainsworths research does not account for individual differences. Ainsworth assumes that the attachment type is cause by maternal sensitivity, when it could be determined by the child’s temperament instead. For example, even a sensitive parent may not be able to form a secure attachment with a difficult, troublesome child.