what is the strange situation

Question 1

what is the strange situation

Answer 1

it was developed by Mary Ainsworth (1969) the aim was to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a cargiver

Question 2

what was the procedure of the Strange Situation

Answer 2

the strange situation is a controlled observation procedure to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver

It takes place in a room with controlled conditions with a two- way mirror through which psychologist can observe the infant’s behaviour

Question 3

what was the infant’s behaviour the psychologists observed

Answer 3

PROXIMITY SEEKING

EXPLORATION AND SECURE- BASE BEHAVIOUR

STRANGER ANXIETY

SEPARATION ANXIETY

RESPONSE TO REUNION

Question 4

what is proximity seeking

Answer 4

PROXIMITY SEEKING:

- an infant with a good attachment will stay fairly close to the caregiver

Question 5

what is exploration and secure - base behaviour

Answer 5

EXPLORATION AND SECURE- BASE BEHAVIOUR:
- good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base, i.e a point of conduct that will make them feel safe

Question 6

what is stranger anxiety

Answer 6

STRANGER ANXIETY :

- one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches

Question 7

what is separation anxiety

Answer 7

SEPARATION ANXIETY

• another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from the caregiver

Question 8

what is response to reunion

Answer 8

RESPONSE TO REUNION

- with the caregiver after separation for a short period under controlled conditions

Question 9

what are the stages of strange situation

Answer 9

1. the child is encouraged to explore
2. a stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child
3. the caregiver leaves the child and stranger together
4. the caregiver returns the stranger leaves
5. the caregiver leaves the child alone
6. the stranger returns
7. the caregiver returns and is reunited with the child

Question 10

what does the first stage test

Answer 10

tests exploration and secure base

Question 11

what does the second stage test

Answer 11

tests stranger anxiety

Question 12

what does the third stage test

Answer 12

tests separation and stranger anxiety

Question 13

what does the fourth stage test

Answer 13

tests reunion behaviour and exploration/ secure base

Question 14

what is the fifth stage of the test

Answer 14

tests separation anxiety anxiety

Question 15

what is the sixth stage of the test

Answer 15

tests stranger anxiety

Question 16

what is the seventh stage of the test

Answer 16

tests reunion behavior

Question 17

what were the findings from the strange situation

Answer 17

Ainsworth et al (1978) found that there were distinct patterns in the way that infants behaved

She identified three main types of attachments:

1. secure attachment (type b)
2. insecure- avoidant attachment (type a)
3. insecure - resistant attachment (type c)

Question 18

what is secure attachment (type b)

Answer 18

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 stranger anxiety

Securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage

about 60-70% of British toddlers are classified as secure

Question 19

what is insecure - avoidant attachment (type a)

Answer 19

insecure - avoidant attachment children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour

They show little or no reaction with their caregiver leaves and they make little stranger anxiety
They do not require comfort at the reunion stage

about 20-25% of toddlers are classified as insecure- avoidant

Question 20

what is insecure - resistant attachment (type c)

Answer 20

these children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less

They show huge stranger and separation distress but they resist comfort when reunited with their carer

Around 3% of British toddlers are classified as insecure - resistant