Ainsworth's Strange Situation

Ainsworth's Strange Situation: A controlled observation procedure designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver Took place in a room with controlled conditions and a two-way mirror so psychologists could observe The behaviours used to judge infant attachment included; proximity seeking, exploration and secure base behaviour, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, response to reunion The procedure has 7 episodes each of which lasts 3 minutes. It begins with the child and caregiver in an unfamiliar playroom The child is encourged to explore - tests exploration and secure base behaviours A stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child - tests stranger anxiety The caregiver leaves the child and stranger together - tests separation and stranger anxiety The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour and exploration/secure-base behaviours The caregiver leaves the child alone - tests separation anxiety The stranger returns - tests stranger anxiety The caregiver returns and is reunited with the child - tests reunion behaviour Ainsworth identified 3 main types of attachment; Secure attachment - these children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure-base behaviour). They usually show moderate separation distress and moderate stanger anxiety. Securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage. 60-75% of British toddlers are securely attached Insecure-avoidant attachment - these children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and they make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns. They also show little stranger anxiety. They do not require comfort at the reunion stage. 20-25% of British toddlers are insecure-avoidant Insecure-resistant attachment - these children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less. They show huge stranger and separation anxiety but they resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver

Evaluation: Attachment type is strongly predictive of later development. Babies that are securely attached typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas such as success at school and romantic relationships and friendships as an adult. Insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes including bullying in later childhood and adult mental health problems. This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain subsequent outcomes Shows good inter-rater reliability - different observers watching the same children in te experiment generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with It is a culture bound experiment - does not have the same meaning in countries outside western Europe and USA. Cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the Strange Situation. Also caregivers from different cultures behave differently in the Strange Situation. E.g. it does not work in Japan because Japanese mothers are rarely separated from their babies, resulting in high separation anxiety. When Japanese mothers are reunited with their babies, they rush over and pick them up making it difficult to observe the child's behaviour