Ainsworth’s strange situation

aim of Ainsworth et al (1971) the strange situation

see how infants (aged 9-18 months) behave under conditions of mild stress and unusualness

procedure of Ainsworth et al (1971) strange situation

conducted in an observation laboratory in a novel environment with video cameras to record the behaviour of the mother and children

centred around watching/analysing the infant’s reactions to parents leaving + strangers attempting to interact with the infant

observation of the infant’s response to

1) separation anxiety

2) reunion behaviour

3) stranger anxiety

4) the novel environment = tests “secure base”

behaviour was categorised into seeking, avoiding, and resisting behaviour, rated on a scale from 1-7

findings of Ainsworth et al (1971) strange situation

combined data from 106 middle-class infants

similarities = exploring behaviours feel in all infants after the stranger entered the room, crying increased

differences = 3 main patterns of behaviour in the infants = 3 types of attachment

secure attachment (type B), insecure-avoidant (type A), insecure-resistant (type C)

describe secure attachment (type B)

harmonious and cooperative interactions with caregiver

high willingness to explore

moderate stranger anxiety

separation anxiety = usually easy to soothe

enthusiastic behaviour at reunion with caregiver

66% of infants in this category

insecure-resistant (type C)

both seeks and resists intimacy and social interaction

low willingness to explore

high stranger anxiety

separation anxiety = distressed ‼

seeks and rejects at reunion with caregiver

12% of infants in this category

one strength is real world applications

in situations where infants-caregiver attachment is disordered, intervention strategies can be developed

Cooper et al (2005) “circle of security” project teaches caregiver to better their understanding of infants’ signals of distress, and to increase understanding of what it feels like to be anxious

showed a decrease in the number of caregivers classified as disordered (from 60% to 15%), increase in infants classified as securely attached (32% to 40%)

supports research on attachment types = used to improve children’s lives

one limitation is that this explanation is incomplete as research has found that Ainsworth missed a 4th type of attachment

Main and Solomon (1986) analysed over 200 strange situation videotapes and proposed ‘insecure disorganised‘ (type D)

this is categorised by a lack of consistent patterns of social behaviour, lacking coherent strategy for dealing with stress of separation = very strong attachment which is suddenly followed by avoidance

Van Ijzendoorn et al (1999) supported this with a meta-analysis of 80 studies in the US = found 62% secure, 15% insecure-avoidant, 9% insecure-resistant, 15% insecure-disorganised

one strength is the observations had high reliability

Ainsworth et al (1978) found almost perfect agreement in the strange situation = 0.94 (inter-observer reliability)

study is reliable

one limitation is the study has low internal validity

Main and Weston (1981) found children behaved differently depending on which parent they were with

suggests that attachment type classification may not be valid = measuring on relationship rather than a complete personal characteristic

however, according to Bowlby’s theory of monotropy, the attachment type is largely related to one special relationship with the mother

Marie (1999) found that attachment types seemed to be mainly influenced by the mother = support Bowlby’s monotropy and the internal validity of the Strange situation