ainsworth’s strange situation

Question 1

strange situation

Answer 1

a controlled observation designed to systematically study the nature of attachment

Question 2

what is a strength of this standardised procedure?

Answer 2

easy to replicate findings - reliable findings

Question 3

ainsworth aim

Answer 3

test how infants aged 9-18 months behave under situations of mild stress and newness

Question 4

ainsworth method

Answer 4

• 8 episodes around 3 mins long to asses the 4 key behaviors in question
• episodes included parents leaving or staying with infant or a stranger coming and offering comfort

Question 5

ainsworth 4 observations

Answer 5

• wilingness to explore
• response to stranger (Stranger Anxiety)
• separation from caregiver (Separation Anxiety)
• reunion with caregiver (Reunion Behavior)

Question 6

ainsworth data collection

Answer 6

• data is typically collected by a group of observers using a video recorder or 1 way mirror
• they may record what the infant does every 15s, time sampling
• each item is also scored for intensity on a scale of 1-7

Question 7

strength - reliability of observations in SS

Answer 7

• ainsworth found .94 inter observer reliability among different observations for exploratory behaviors.
• above .80 suggests they can be accepted and reliable. this is likely true as it was a controlled observation eliminating extraneous variables and it was recorded and watched through 1 way mirror
• this suggests Strange Situation has been a reliable method for examining attachment

Question 8

ainsworth results

Answer 8

similarities and differences in the way infants behave:
similarities
- exploratory behaviors fell from episode 2
- crying increased

she found 3 main patterns of behavior in the infants observed which developed the main types of attachment

Question 9

3 main types of attachment

Answer 9

• secure Attachment (B)
• insecure Avoidant (A)
• insecure Resistant (C)

Question 10

% of infants - type B

Answer 10

66%

Question 11

secure attachment - type b
HMEE

Answer 11

• explore - high
• stranger anxiety - moderate
• seperation anxiety - easily soothed
• reunion with caregiver - enthusiastic

Question 12

% of infants type A

Answer 12

22%

Question 13

insecure avoidant - type a
HLIAC

Answer 13

• explore - high
• stranger anxiety - low
• seperation anxiety - indifferent
• reunion with caregiver - avoid contact

Question 14

% of infants - type c

Answer 14

12%

Question 15

insecure resistant - type c
LHDSR

Answer 15

• explore - low
• stranger anxiety - high
• seperation anxiety - distress
• reunion with caregiver - seek and reject

Question 16

pros of strange situation

Answer 16

• easy to Replicate
• 0.94 Inter-Observer Reliability of Observations
• circle of Security Project Real World Applications

Question 17

cons of strange situation

Answer 17

• unreliability of observations - parent
• middle class sample bias
• later Evidence

Question 18

unreliability o observations

Answer 18

• main and Weston found children behaved differently dependent upon the parent they were with.
• this suggests strange situation may measure infants relationship with 1 parent as opposed to a personal characteristic of the infant.
• this lack of internal validity suggests the strange situations may not have actually measures types of attachment thus conclusions are incorrect

Question 19

sample/cultural bias

Answer 19

• ainsworth strange situation is based of observations from Western society’s and Middle class families. this doesn’t reflect other society’s or sectors of society.
• this lack of population validity means results on types of attachment cannot be generalized upon those other than middle class western families