Ainsworth's strange situation

What was the name of Ainsworth’s procedure for measuring attachment types?

Ainsworth’s strange situation

What two things does the strange situation test?

• Attachment type

• Quality of attachment

What was the sample of participants used in Ainsworth’s strange situation study?

100 middle class, US mother-infant pairs

What was the research method used?

A controlled observation

What four aspects were specifically being tested within the strange situation?

1. Proximity seeking, exploration & secure base behaviour

2. Stranger anxiety

3. Separation anxiety

4. The response to reunion

The procedure itself consisted of how many episodes?

7

How long was each episode?

3 minutes

How many attachment types did Ainsworth identify from her initial study?

3

What are the three attachment types & the approximate percentages obtained?

• Secure: 65%

• Insecure-avoidant: between 15-20%

• Insecure-resistant: between 15-20%

What are the characteristics of a secure infant?

• Explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver

• Moderate separation & stranger anxiety

• Require & accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage

What are the characteristics of an insecure-avoidant infant?

• Explore freely & do not display proximity or secure-base behaviour

• Show little/no reaction when the caregiver leaves & makes little effort to make contact with the caregiver when they return

• They show little stranger anxiety & do not require comfort at reunion

What are the characteristics of an insecure-resistant infant?

• Seek greater proximity & explore less

• Show greater stranger/separation but resist comfort upon reunion

What are the two conclusions that Ainsworth reached from her study?

• There are different types of attachment

• The type of attachment between mother & child is largely dependent on the mother’s behaviour (particularly her sensitive responsiveness) towards the child

Outline and evaluate Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (16 marks)

Write your AO1 paragraph

• Ainsworth’s Strange Situation measured attachment types, which enabled both attachment type & the quality of attachment to be assessed. The sample involved 100 middle-class, US mother-infant pairs & used a controlled observation to test proximity-seeking, exploration & secure-base behaviour, stranger & separation anxiety & the response to reunion.

• The procedure consisted of 7 episodes (e.g. a stranger enters & interacts with the child or the child is left alone), each of 3 minutes duration with the results showing the existence of three attachment types: secure (65%), insecure-avoidant & insecure-resistant (each between 15-20%).

• Securely-attached infants explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver, have moderate separation & stranger anxiety, & require & accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage.

• Insecure-avoidant attached infants explore freely but do not display proximity or secure base behaviour. They show little or no reaction when the caregiver leaves & make little effort to make contact with the caregiver when they return. They show little stranger & separation anxiety & do not require comfort at reunion.

• Insecure-resistant attached infants seek greater proximity & explore less. They show greater stranger & separation anxiety but resist comfort upon reunion.

• Ainsworth concluded the quality of attachment is largely dependent on the mother’s sensitive responsiveness towards her child.

Outline and evaluate Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (16 marks)

Write your strength AO3 PEEL (Bailey)

• Point: One strength of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is that it has high predictive validity.

• Evidence: For example, Bailey found that attachment types tend to be passed down through generations (e.g. securely attached children will go on to become parents of securely attached children themselves).

• Explain: This is beneficial as knowing that insecure attachments lead to poorer social & emotional outcomes (e.g. anxiety & relationship difficulties) means that additional emotional support can be provided.

• Link: Overall, Ainsworth’s work has provided a lot of knowledge for understanding early attachments & contributed to further research (e.g. Bowlby’s internal working model).

Outline and evaluate Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (ethnocentrism)

• Point: One limitation of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is that it is culturally biased, as it suffers from ethnocentrism.

• Evidence: For example, the procedure & classification system were based on Western, individualistic norms of child development, particularly US child-rearing practices with moderate separation from caregivers.

• Explain: However, Takahashi’s study in Japan (collectivist culture) found that where children rarely experience separation from mothers, infants may be wrongly classified as insecure-resistant, even though they are displaying culturally appropriate behaviour.

• Link: Overall, studies such as this & the meta-analysis of Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg, limit the cross-cultural validity of Ainsworth’s work, suggesting how an imposed etic can affect conclusions about universal attachment behaviours.

Outline and evaluate Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (16 marks)

Write your limitation AO3 PEEL (Main & Solomon)

• Point: One limitation of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is that it fails to consider all forms of attachment.

• Evidence: For example, Main & Solomon identified a fourth attachment type (disorganised attachment) in which the child appears confused & apprehensive, with no consistent response to the events of the Strange Situation.

• Explain: This attachment type is associated with high-risk families where children may have been abused or neglected (e.g. it was found in higher proportions in Romanian orphans, such as Zeenah’s Bucharest Early Intervention Project).

• Link: As such, as this was not outlined in Ainsworth’s original research, it suggests that Ainsworth’s original classification was incomplete.