Ainsworth's Strange Situation

What is strange situation?

A systematic way to test the nature of attachment between infant and caregiver

Outline Ainsworth’s Strange Situation;

It was a procedure assessing the quality of attachment between the infant and mother. The original experiment carried out in USA with 100 middle class mothers and their infants.

It was a controlled observation with children and caregiver in a playroom, observed through a two way mirror

What did Ainsworth’s Strange Situation measure?

Stranger anxiety, reunion behaviour and exploration behaviour

What are the 7 stages of the Strange Situation?

1. Infant and caregiver pay

2. Stranger enters

3. Caregiver leaves

4. Caregiver returns and stranger leaves

5. Caregiver leaves

6. Stranger returns

7. Caregiver returns

Which 4 types of behaviours was the Strange Situation testing for?

1. Separation anxiety

2. Stranger anxiety

3. Secure-base behaviour

4. Reunion behaviour

Describe the procedure of the Strange Situation:

The procedure lasted 3 minutes and the babies are classified with an attachment type according to the 4 behaviours

In the first stage when caregiver and infant are playing together which behaviour is it testing for?

Secure-base behaviour

What are the three types of attachment Ainsworth found?

• Secure

• Insecure-resistant

• Insecure-avoidant

What is secure-attachment?

• Shows secure-base behaviour

• Moderate levels of separation and stranger anxiety

• Easily comforted when mother returns

What is an insecure-resistant attachment?

• Not confident and clings to mother

• Extreme levels of separation and stranger anxiety

• Reunion behaviour - seeks mother and rejects her e.g may push her away

What is an insecure-avoidant attachment?

• Does not use mother as a secure base and comfortable to explore

• Low levels of separation and stranger anxiety

• Shows little interest when mother returns

Describe the findings of the Strange Situaiton:

In the Uk:

Secure = 60-75%

Insecure-avoidant = 20-25%

Insecure-resistant = 3%

What did Ainsworth conclude from the Strange Situation?

Sensitive mothers tend to have securely-attached babies whereas insensitive mothers tend to have insecurely-attached babies

Outline the study that supports the idea that the Strange Situation has good reliability?

Bick et al (2012) looked at inter-rater reliability in a team of trained Strange Situation observers and found agreement on attachment type for 94% of tested babies

Outline Kagan (1982):

Suggested that genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for variations on attachment behaviour in the Strange Situation and later development. This means that the Strange Situation may not actually measure attachment