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Psychology- Attachment > Strange situation test > Flashcards

Strange situation test Flashcards

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1
Q

who conducted the strange situation test and when?

A

Mary Ainsworth
1969

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2
Q

what ages of children is the strange situation test used on?

A

between 9 and 30 months

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3
Q

what was the aim of the strange situation test?

A

the aim was to be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver

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4
Q

what are infants being assessed on?

A

their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver

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5
Q

where does the SST take place?

A

in a room with controlled conditions with a two-way mirror through which psychologists can observe the infant’s behaviour

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6
Q

what type of experiment is the SST?

A

a laboratory experiment

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7
Q

what are the 5 behaviours used to judge attachment?

A

proximity seeking
exploration and secure base behaviour
stranger anxiety
separation anxiety
response to reunion/ reunion behaviour

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8
Q

what is proximity seeking?

A

an infant with a good attachment will stay fairly close to their caregiver

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9
Q

what is exploration and secure-base behaviour?

A

a good attachment ensembles a child to feel confident to explore, and uses their caregiver as a secure base (a point of contact that will make them feel safe)

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10
Q

what is stranger anxiety?

A

one of the signs of becoming attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches

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11
Q

what is separation anxiety?

A

another sign of becoming attachments, it’s a protest at separation from the caregiver

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12
Q

what is response to reunion?

A

behaviour shown after reunion with the caregiver after separation for a short person of time under controlled conditions

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13
Q

how many episodes does the SST have and how long does each one last?

A

eight episodes
three minutes each

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14
Q

what are the 8 episodes of the SST?

A

In the beginning the child and caregiver enter an unfamiliar playroom
1. the child is encouraged to explore
2. a stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child
3. the caregiver leaves the child and the stranger together
4. the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
5. the caregiver leaves the child alone
6. the stranger returns
7. the caregiver returns and is reunited with the child

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15
Q

what does the first stage of the SST test?

A

exploration and secure base behaviour

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16
Q

what does the second phase of the SST test?

A

stranger anxiety

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17
Q

what does the third phase of the SST test?

A

separation and stranger anxiety

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18
Q

what does the fourth stage of the SST test?

A

reunion behaviour and exploration/ secure base behaviour

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19
Q

what does the fifth stage of the SST test?

A

separation anxiety

20
Q

what does the sixth stage of the SST test?

A

stranger anxiety

21
Q

what does the seventh stage of the SST test?

A

reunion behaviour

22
Q

overview of Ainsworths findings from the SST?

A

Ainsworth found that there were distinct patterns in the way infants behaved. She identified 3 main types of attachment
•secure attachment (type B)
•insecure-avoidant attachment (type A)
•insecure- resistant attachment (type C)

23
Q

which ones are attachment type A, B and C?

A

A- insecure- avoidant
B- Secure
C- insecure-resistant

24
Q

what are characteristics of a secure attachment?

A

these children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver displaying proximity seeking and secure base behaviour. they usually show moderate separation anxiety and moderate stranger anxiety. securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage.

25
Q

what percentage of british toddlers are classified as having a secure attachment?

A

60-75%

26
Q

what are characteristics of an insecure-avoidant attachment?

A

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.

27
Q

what percentage of british toddlers are classified as having an insecure-avoidant attachment?

A

20-25%

28
Q

what are characteristics of an insecure-resistant attachment?

A

these children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less. they show huge stranger and separation anxiety but they resist comfort when reunited with their carer.

29
Q

what percentage of british toddlers are classified as insecure-resistant?

A

3%

30
Q

evaluation points for the SST

A

strength: support for validity
strength: good reliability
limitation: the test may be culture bound
limitation: what does the SST measure
limitation: there is more than one attachment type

31
Q

strength: support for validity

A

•attachment type as defined by the SST is strongly predictive of later development
•babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas (relationships- internal working model), whereas insecure- resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes, including adult mental health problems (Ward,2006)
•this is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain subsequent outcomes
•it has good predictive validity

32
Q

who concluded that having an insecure-resistant attachment often leads to worse outcomes?

A

Ward, 2006
these worse outcomes include mental health issues as adults

33
Q

strength: good reliability

A

•the SST shows very good inter-rates relatability
•this may be because the SST takes place under controlled conditions and because behavioural categories are easy to observe
•a study by Bick looked at inter-rated relatability in a team of trained SST observers and found agreement on the attachment of 94% of tested babies
•this means we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant in the SST does not just depend on who is observing them

34
Q

what did Bick look at and find?

A

Bick looked at inter-rated relatability in a team of trained SST observers and found agreement on the attachment of 94% of tested babies

35
Q

limitation: the test may be culture bound

A

•there are doubts as to whether it has the same meaning in countries outside western europe and the USA
•this could be for two reasons
- cultural differences in childhood experiences
- caregivers from different cultures behaving differently/ raising children differently

36
Q

where was the SST devised?

A

the USA

37
Q

limitation: what does the SST measure?

A

it measures the child’s anxiety produced by being out in an unfamiliar environment. however, what is more controversial is whether the main influence on anxiety is attachment, as Ainsworth assumed. Kagan has suggested that in fact temperament, the genetically influenced personality of the child, is a more important influence on the behaviour in the SST than attachment.
It means that temperament may be a confounding variable.

38
Q

who suggested that temperament has a bigger influence on the child’s behaviour than attachment?

A

kagan (1982)

39
Q

limitation: there is at least one more attachment type

A

Ainsworth conceived three attachment types. However, Main and Solomon (1986) pointed out that a minority of children display atypical attachments that do not fall within types A, B or C behaviour.
This atypical attachment is commonly known as disorganised attachment. Disorganised children often display an odd mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours. (seen in romanian orphans)

40
Q

who suggested that Ainsworth failed to consider the disorganised attachment?

A

Main and Solomon (1986)

41
Q

how does a caregiver respond to create a secure attachment?

A

the caregiver is sensitive to the infants needs and responds consistently

42
Q

how does a caregiver respond to create an insecure avoidant attachment?

A

the caregiver is not sensitive to the infants needs and tends to ignore the infant

43
Q

how does a caregiver respond to create an insecure resistant attachment?

A

the caregiver is inconsistent in terms of how they respond to the needs of the infant, sometimes being sensitive but sometimes not.

44
Q

what type of observation is the SST?

A

an overt observation

45
Q

why is an overt observation a limitation?

A

mothers knew they were being watched so they may have behaved differently which could have affected the child’s behaviour

46
Q

strength of the SST: reliability of the observations

A

Ainsworth carried out further analysis on the SST and found almost perfect inter-observer reliability from different observers

Psychology- Attachment (12 decks)

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