the strange situation

Mary Ainsworth & Silvia Bell (1970) the strange situation experiment- procedure

• aimed to observe key attachment behaviours to assess the quality of a baby's attachment to a caregiver

• carried out in a lab setting, with a 2 way mirror, cameras and filled with toys

• controlled observation was used, researchers observed through the mirror and cameras

• around 100 middle class American 1-2 year old infants and their mothers were observed

what behaviours were observed in the strange situation?

• proximity seeking: babies with good attachment stay fairly close to caregivers

• exploration and secure base behaviour: good attachment means babies feel confident to explore using their caregiver as a secure base

• stranger anxiety: display of anxiety when a stranger is present

• separation anxiety: protest at separation from the caregiver

• reunion response: securely attached babies greet the caregiver with pleasure and seek comfort from them

what were the episodes of the strange situation, what behaviours are they testing?

1. baby and caregiver enter the room

2. baby encouraged to explore- exploration, secure base

3. stranger enters, talks to caregiver, approaches baby- stranger anxiety

4. caregiver leaves baby and stranger together- separation and stranger anxiety

5. caregiver returns, stranger leaves- reunion behaviour, exploration, secure base

6. caregiver leaves baby alone- separation anxiety

7. stranger returns- stranger anxiety

8. caregiver returns, reunited with baby- reunion

Mary Ainsworth & Silvia Bell (1970) the strange situation experiment- findings

found distinct patterns in baby's behaviour, suggesting 3 main types of attachment: secure, insecure avoidant, insecure resistant

secure attachment- type B

• explore happily, regularly returning to caregiver (moderate proximity seeking, strong secure base)

• moderate separation and stranger anxiety

• accept comfort from caregiver at reunion, positive reunion response

• 60-75% of British babies

insecure avoidant attachment- type A

• explore freely, don't seek proximity or show secure base behaviour

• little or no reaction to caregiver leaving or stranger anxiety

• little effort to seek comfort when caregiver returns, may avoid contact

• 20-25% of British babies

insecure resistant attachment- type C

• seek greater proximity than others and explore less (high proximity, low exploration)

• high stranger and separation anxiety

• resist comfort when caregiver returns

• 3% of British babies

strength of types of attachment- good predictive validity

• findings of the strange situation predict a variety of future developments in the baby's life, eg McCormick et al. (2016) securely attached baby's have better outcomes in later childhood and adulthood, Kokkinos (2007) securely attached babies show better achievement in school and less involvement in bullying

• in contrast, Ward et al. (2006) insecure resistant babies (or not classified as A, B or C) tend to have the worst outcomes eg bullying and mental health problems

• this is evidence for the validity of the concept as it can explain and predict future outcomes

weakness of types of attachment- other explanations

• although strange situation must measure something important in later development, may not be attachment

• Kagan (1982) genetically influenced anxiety levels could explain the variations in attachment behaviours seen by Ainsworth, could explain later outcomes

• the strange situation may not actually measure attachment

strength of types of attachment- good reliability

• inter rater reliability was good in the strange situation, Bick et al. (2012) tested inter rater reliability in the strange situation using trained observers, observers agreed on attachment type in 94% of cases

• likely due to the controlled conditions and clearly observable behaviour categories

• means we can be confident that the attachment type of a baby identified in the Strange Situation doesn’t depend on who’s observing them

weakness of types of attachment- test may be culture bound

• strange situation was developed in westernised countries (UK & UK), may only be valid for use in some cultures (culture bound) and not have the same meaning in other countries

• babies may experience different upbringing styles in different cultures, affecting their response in the strange situation, Takahashi (1986) Japanese babies showed very high levels of separation anxiety, disproportionate number were classified as insecure avoidant, anxiety may be due to the lack of mother baby separation in Japan, not attachment security

• means its difficult to know what the strange situation is measuring in some countries or cultures

weakness of types of attachment- other attachment types

• Main & Solomon (1986) identified a 4th category of attachment, type D or disorganised attachment, babies show a mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours

• however, this is rare and type D babies tend to have experienced neglect or abuse, most develop psychological disorders by adulthood

• means that Ainsworth’s classification is adequate as a description of normal variations in attachment