Ainsworth's Strange Situation

Question 1

The Strange Situation

Answer 1

Ainsworth’s strange situation is an observational method for testing strength of attachment between a caregiver and an infant devised by Ainsworth et al. (1971). Infants aged between 9-18 months were placed in a novel situation of mild stress, namely an unfamiliar room whereby they are left alone, left with a stranger and reunited with their caregiver. Ainsworth observed how the infants behaved through a one-way mirror during a set of 8 different scenarios, each lasting approximately 3 minutes.

Question 2

Observations of the following behaviours were recorded (4 behavioural categories):

Answer 2

• Separation anxiety
• Reunion behaviour
• Exploration
• Stranger anxiety

Question 3

1) The mother and infant enter the room. The mother sits on one of the chairs and reads a magazine. The child is placed on the floor and is free to explore the toys.

Answer 3

Exploration

Question 4

2) A stranger enters and sits on the second chair and talks briefly with the mother.

Answer 4

Stranger anxiety

Question 5

3) The stranger approaches the infant and attempts to interact and play with them.

Answer 5

Stranger anxiety

Question 6

4) The mother leaves the room so that the infant is alone with the stranger. The stranger comforts the baby if they are upset and offers to play with them.

Answer 6

Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety

Question 7

5) The mother returns and the stranger leaves.

Answer 7

Reunion behaviour

Question 8

6) The mother departs again leaving the baby briefly alone in the room.

Answer 8

Separation anxiety

Question 9

7) The stranger re-enters and offers to comfort and play with the baby.

Answer 9

Stranger anxiety

Question 10

8) The mother returns and the stranger leaves.

Answer 10

Reunion behaviour

Question 11

Secure (66%) - Type B

Answer 11

Exploration
- the infant explores the unfamiliar environment, returning to the mother at regular intervals and using her as a safe-base.

Separation anxiety
- moderate separation anxiety: the infant’s play is seriously disrupted when the mother leaves.

Stranger anxiety
- moderate stranger anxiety: the infant is wary of strangers and will move closer to the mother when she is present with the stranger.

Reunion behaviour
- the infant is pleased to see the mother, seeks proximity and is easily comforted by her presence. The child shows joy upon reunion.

Question 12

Insecure-Avoidant (22%) - Type A

Answer 12

Exploration
- the infant explores the unfamiliar environment but does not return to the mother and does not use her as a safe base.

Separation anxiety
- low separation anxiety: the infant is not concerned by the mother’s departure.

Stranger anxiety
- low stranger anxiety: the infant is not concerned about the stranger and shows little preference between the mother and the stranger.

Reunion behaviour
- the infant show little reaction upon the mother’s return and often ignores her. The child does not seek proximity or shows joy on reunion, i.e. avoids intimacy.

Question 13

Insecure-Resistant (12%) - Type C

Answer 13

Exploration
- the infant does not explore the environment around them, choosing to stay close to the mother, i.e. being clingy.

Separation anxiety
- high separation anxiety: the infant is extremely distressed and violent when the mother leaves.

Stranger anxiety
- high stranger anxiety: the infant becomes extremely distressed when the stranger goes to comfort them.

Reunion behaviour
- the infant is not easily comforted by mother - seeks but rejects or resists attempts of mother’s comfort on reunion.

Question 14

Strength

Answer 14

The strange situation method of assessing attachment type is said to have high reliability. The observations took place under strict and controlled methods (including video recordings) using predetermined behavioural categories. Since Ainsworth had several observers that observed the same infant behaviours, agreement on attachment classifications could be ensured. Ainsworth et al. (1978) found 94% agreement between observers and when inter-observer/inter-rater reliability is assumed to a high degree the findings are considered more meaningful.

Question 15

Strength

Answer 15

There is reliability of classifications. Waters (1978) assessed 50 infants at 12 and at 18 months of age using the Strange Situation procedure. Waters found clear evidence for stable individual differences using Ainsworth’s behavior category data. The greatest consistency was seen in reunion behaviours after brief separations. 48 of the 50 infants observed were independently rated as being classified in the same category at 18 months.

Question 16

Weakness

Answer 16

One weakness of Ainsworth’s strange situation is that it lacks ecological validity. Ainsworth conducted her observation in a controlled, artificial setting which was unfamiliar to both the parents and the infants. Therefore, the children she was observing may have acted differently to how they would act in a more familiar environment, such as at home. This means that we do not know if the behaviours displayed by the children would be the same when they are not in a novel environment, making Ainsworth’s findings less externally valid.

Question 17

Weakness

Answer 17

A methodological weakness of Ainsworth’s strange situation is the type of observation she conducted, which was overt in its design. The parents in Ainsworth’s study knew they were being observed through the one-way mirror and therefore may have displayed demand characteristics. This meant that the mothers may have been overly affectionate towards their children as they believed this is the behaviour that the scenario demanded of them. In turn, this could have altered the children’s behaviour and therefore lowers the internal validity of the experiment.

Question 18

Weakness

Answer 18

There is a possibility that Ainsworth’s classification system of attachment types is incomplete. Main and Solomon (1986) conducted subsequent research whereby they analysed several hundred strange situation episodes via videotape and suggest that Ainsworth overlooked a fourth type. It was noted that some infants showed inconsistent patterns of behaviours which they termed Type D: insecure-disorganised. Further support for this claim comes from a meta-analysis of studies from the US conducted by Van Ijzendoorn et al. (1999) which found that 15% of infants were, in fact, classified as Type D.