what is the strange situation Flashcards
what is the strange situation
it was developed by Mary Ainsworth (1969) the aim was to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a cargiver
what was the procedure of the Strange Situation
the strange situation is a controlled observation procedure to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver
It takes place in a room with controlled conditions with a two- way mirror through which psychologist can observe the infant’s behaviour
what was the infant’s behaviour the psychologists observed
PROXIMITY SEEKING
EXPLORATION AND SECURE- BASE BEHAVIOUR
STRANGER ANXIETY
SEPARATION ANXIETY
RESPONSE TO REUNION
what is proximity seeking
PROXIMITY SEEKING:
- an infant with a good attachment will stay fairly close to the caregiver
what is exploration and secure - base behaviour
EXPLORATION AND SECURE- BASE BEHAVIOUR:
- good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base, i.e a point of conduct that will make them feel safe
what is stranger anxiety
STRANGER ANXIETY :
- one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches
what is separation anxiety
SEPARATION ANXIETY
- another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from the caregiver
what is response to reunion
RESPONSE TO REUNION
- with the caregiver after separation for a short period under controlled conditions
what are the stages of strange situation
- the child is encouraged to explore
- a stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child
- the caregiver leaves the child and stranger together
- the caregiver returns the stranger leaves
- the caregiver leaves the child alone
- the stranger returns
- the caregiver returns and is reunited with the child
what does the first stage test
tests exploration and secure base
what does the second stage test
tests stranger anxiety
what does the third stage test
tests separation and stranger anxiety
what does the fourth stage test
tests reunion behaviour and exploration/ secure base
what is the fifth stage of the test
tests separation anxiety anxiety
what is the sixth stage of the test
tests stranger anxiety
what is the seventh stage of the test
tests reunion behavior
what were the findings from the strange situation
Ainsworth et al (1978) found that there were distinct patterns in the way that infants behaved
She identified three main types of attachments:
- secure attachment (type b)
- insecure- avoidant attachment (type a)
- insecure - resistant attachment (type c)
what is secure attachment (type b)
these children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver
(proximity seeking) and secure base behaviour
They usually show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety
Securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage
about 60-70% of British toddlers are classified as secure
what is insecure - avoidant attachment (type a)
insecure - avoidant attachment children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
They show little or no reaction with their caregiver leaves and they make little stranger anxiety
They do not require comfort at the reunion stage
about 20-25% of toddlers are classified as insecure- avoidant
what is insecure - resistant attachment (type c)
these children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less
They show huge stranger and separation distress but they resist comfort when reunited with their carer
Around 3% of British toddlers are classified as insecure - resistant
