The strange situation Flashcards
What did Ainsworth want to discover in the Strange situation experiment
She wanted to see if there were different attachment styles
What was the experimental design of the Strange Situation
It was a non-participant overt observation
What 4 behaviours did Ainsworth measure
Proximity seeking, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and reunion behaviour
What was the set up of the experiment
There were 8 episodes each lasting 3 minutes apart from the 1st which lasted 1 and a half minutes
What did her results show?
the children explored the rom more enthusiastically with mother present then absent(secure base)
- Ainsworth concluded that there were 3 types of attachments(Type A,B,C)
What is the three styles of attachment
Type A- insecure avoidant
Type B- secure
Type C- insecure resistant
What behaviour did Type A demonstrate
Not bothered by anything
What behaviour did Type B demonstrate
Moderately distressed stranger anxiety
Moderately distressed when mother leaves
Very happy and quick to settle when reunited with mother
What behaviour did type C demonstrate
Extremely distressed stranger anxiety
Extremely distressed when mother leaves
Seeks and rejects comfort when reunited with mother
What is the average attachment style in the UK(percentage)
60-75% of UK children are secure(style B)
Strengths of Strange situation
High reliability- Ainsworth used more than 1 observer which allowed the observers to compare the results leading to an inter-rater reliability of 94% suggesting the observers were well-trained, behavioural categories were operationalised, mutually exclusive and unambiguous
Weaknesses of the strange situation
Culturally bound- Study was designed in the US meaning it is an imposed etic by judging culture by norms of the other. Takahashi(Japan) and Grossman and Grossman(Germany) discovered that the attachment styles in their countries were predominately type C and type A. This suggests that attachment styles differ between cultures therefore criticising Ainsworth’s belief that type B is a universal style
Overt observation- This may have caused the mother to alter her behaviour and show demand characteristics as she knew she was being observed which subsequently may cause the baby to change their behaviour therefore reducing the ecological validity of the study
