ainsworth's strange situation

Question 1

what are the three types of attachment identified by ainsworth?

Answer 1

-type A - insecure-avoidant
-type B - securely attached
-type C - insecure-resistant

Question 2

what is type A attachment?

Answer 2

-insecure avoidant
-infants willing to explore, have low stranger anxiety, unconcerned with separation and avoid contact at the return of the caregiver
-caregivers are indifferent to infant’s needs

Question 3

what is type B attachment?

Answer 3

-securely attached
-keep to explore, high stranger anxiety, distressed by separation, easy to calm, enthusiastic at caregiver’s return
-caregivers are sensitive to infants needs

Question 4

what is type C attachment?

Answer 4

-insecure resistant
-unwilling to explore, have high stranger anxiety, upset at separation, seek and reject contact upon return,
-caregivers are ambivalent to infants needs, demonstrating opposite feelings and behaviours

Question 5

what year was the strange situation study conducted?

Answer 5

1978

Question 6

what was the procedure of SS?

Answer 6

-eight episodes, 3 minutes each (bar one being 30s), varied who was present in the room
-every aspect of behaviour observed and videoed, most attention on reunion behaviours
-106 infants observed
-unfamiliar environment testing room, 81 square feet divided into 16 squares
-five behaviour categories recorded (proximity and contact seeking, contact maintaining, proximity and interaction-avoiding, contact and interaction-resisting, search behaviours)
-every 15 seconds, category of behaviour recorded ranked on a scale of 1-7

Question 7

SS findings

Answer 7

-infants generally explored more when just the mother was present
-15% insecure-avoidant, play wasn’t affected by whether or not mother was present, little stress when she left, little reaction upon return
-15% insecure-resistant, fussy and wary even with mother, sought contact upon return but also showed anger
-70% securely attached, played when mother was present, distressed when she left, sought comfort on return, started to play again

Question 8

conclusions of SS

Answer 8

-sensitive responsiveness is a major factor in determining quality of attachments, sensitive mothers can interpret behaviours better

Question 9

evaluate SS

Answer 9

-became a paradigm
-backed up by similar findings
-assumes attachment types are fixed characteristics, but classification can change in different circumstances
-lab based, high control but lacks ecological validity, brofenbrenner found infants attachment behaviour is stronger in labs
-focuses too much on infant behaviour, not enough on mother’s behaviour, could distort results
-may be unethical, deliberately stresses infants, but can be seen as justifiable, as the stressed caused is no different to everyday situations
-may not be a valid measurement type - main and weston 1981 found children act differently in SS depending on what parent they’re with, may be insecurely attached to mother but securely attached to father
-reliable, other research support (main et al 1985 - all that were secure at 18m were still at 6y)
-main and solomon found type D - insecure-disorganised
-not suitable for all cultures