Ainsworth's strange situations: Types of attachment

What is insecure-avoidant attachment

A type of attachment where children avoid soical interaction and intimacy with others

What is insecure-resistant attachment

A type of attachment where infants both seek and reject intimacy and soical interaction

What is secure attachment

A strong attachment resulting from a caregiver’s sensitive response, leading to comfort with social interaction and healthy cognitive/emotional development

What is the Strange Situation

A controlled observations designed to test attachment security in infants

What was the aim of Ainsworth’s Strange study

To observe how infants react to mild stress and novelty

How was the Strange Situation study conducted

Infants were observed in an environment with 8 episodes, alternating presence of a caregiver a stranger, while measuring behaviours like separation anxiety, reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety and exploration

How was data collected in the Strange Situation study

Observers used one way mirror or video recording, scoring behaviours every 15 seconds on a scale of 1-7

What general findings did Ainsworth observe

All infants showed reduced exploratory behaviour and increased crying after episode 2

How did insecure-avoidant infants behave in the Strange Situation

They showed little distress when separated, avoided seeking proximity upon reunion, and where happy to explore alone but had high anxiety level s

How did securely attached infants behave in the Strange Situation

They showed distress when left with a stranger, sought comfort from the caregiver when anxious, and used the caregiver as a secure base for exploration

How did insecure-resistant infants behave in the Strange Situation

They displayed intense distress upon separation, rejected the stranger, and showed conflicting behaviours towards the caregiver upon reunion

What is insecure-disorganised attachment (Type D)

A fourth attachment type where infants show inconsistent and disorganised soical behaviours, lacking a clear strategy for dealing with stress

How was reliability ensured in Ainsworth’s study

Observers researched agreement on behaviour ratings, with an inter-observer reliability score of 0.94

How was Ainsworth’s research been applied in real life

It led to intervention programs like Circle of Security project, which helps caregivers better respond to infant distress and increases secure attachment rates

What is a major criticism of the Strange Situation’s validity

It may measure attachment to a specific caregiver rather than the infant’s general attachment style, meaning classification may not reflect the child’s overall attachment characteristics