Mary Ainsworth Flashcards
Who devised the Strange Situation
Mary Ainsworth
What was the aim of the Strange Situation
To observe attachment security in children within the context of
caregiver relationships
Outline the Strange Situation in 1 sentence
- An investigation to study the attachment a child has with their mother and how it is affected by a stranger or when alone
Outine the 8 stages of the Strange Situation
1 - Mother and infant go into the room together
2 - The mother sits down while the child is placed on the floor
and is free to explore (finds a secure base)
3 - Stranger enters the room and talks briefly to the mother Stranger leans forward and tries to engage with the infant
4 - Mother leaves the room leaving Baby is alone with the
stranger. Stranger tried to comfort the baby if they get upset Stranger tries to play with them
5 - Mother returns to the room. Stranger leaves
6 - Mother leaves the room. Infant is alone
7 -Instead of the mother returning, the stranger returns. Tries to comfort and play with the infant
8 - Mother re-enters the room. Stranger leaves
What does the 3rd and 7th stage of the SS test
Stranger Anxiety
What does the 5th and 8th stage of the SS test
Re-Union Behaviour
Which 3 types of attachments did Ainsworth study
Secure
Insecure Avoidant
Insecure Resistant
What were the 4 characteristics were focused during the SS
- Safe Base
- Seperation Anxiety
- Stranger Anxiety
- Reunion Behaviour
Outline the characteristics of a secure attachment
Safe base - Will use the mother as a safe base to explore their
environment
Separation anxiety - Mildly distressed when mother leaves
Stranger anxiety - Wary of stranger when alone but friendly when mother is present
Reunion behaviour - Happy when mother returns/joy at reunion/easily soothed
Outline the characteristics of an insecure avoidant attachment
Safe base - Explores but does not come back and use mother as a safe
base
Separation anxiety - Infant shows no sign of distress when mother
leaves/doesn’t notice her absence
Stranger anxiety - Infant is not distressed with the stranger and plays normally when stranger is present
Reunion behaviour - Infant shows no interest when mother returns
Outline the characteristics of an insecure resistant attachment
Safe base - Infant does not explore
Separation anxiety - Infant shows signs of intense distress
Stranger anxiety - Infant avoids the stranger
Reunion behaviour - Child approaches mother, but resists contact,
rejects/pushed her away
Outline the caregiver sensitivity for each type of attachment
Securely - Attached infants have mothers who are more sensitive, accepting and co-operative to the needs of a child
Insecure - Mothers are unresponsive to crying and less affectionate
Insecure avoidant - Mothers are more rejecting and pay less attention to children
Insecure resistant - Mothers tended to be occupied with routine activities when holding the child
Give 2 criticisms of the SS
A major fault in Ainsworth’s experiment was that all children were tested assuming the primary caregiver was the mother. The reason this invalidates the practical is because the assumption that none of the fathers are PCGs can ruin the validity of the results
Lacked ecological validity. They assumed the children from a middle-class american family would re-enact the same behaviours as others araound the world
