Ainsworth's strange situation Flashcards
what are the 3 attachment types Ainsworth discovered?
type A - insecure-avoidant
type B - securely attached
type C - insecure-resistant
describe type A attachment
infants willing to explore, low stranger anxiety, unconcerned by separation, avoid contact at the return of their caregiver, caregivers indifferent to infants needs
describe type B attachment
infants keen to explore, high stranger anxiety, easy to calm, enthusiastic at return to carer, caregivers are sensitive to infants needs
describe type C attachment
infants unwilling to explore, high stranger anxiety, upset by separation, seek and reject contact at return of their caregiver, caregivers are ambivalent to infants needs.
what is the procedure for Ainsworth’s strange situation?
unfamiliar environment
5 categories recorded - proximity & contact seeking, contact-maintaining behaviours, proximity-interaction-avoiding behaviours, contact & interaction-resisting, search behaviours.
behaviour recorded & scored
explain the intensity scale 1-7 of Ainsworth’s strange situation
1 - observer introduced mum + infant to room & leaves
2 - mum passive while infant explores
3 - stranger silent 1 min, 2nd min stranger talks to mum, 3rd min stranger approaches infant, after 3 mins mum leaves
4 - separation episode
5 - reunion episode, stranger leaves, mum greets child & engage in play, then leaves
6 - separation episode but infant alone this time
7 - reunion, mum enters, greets & picks up infant & stranger leaves
what are the findings of Ainsworth’s strange situation?
15% type A
70% type B
15% type C
what are the conclusions for Ainsworth’s strange situation?
sensitive responsiveness is the major factor determining the quality of attachments as sensitive mothers correctly interpret infants’ signals and respond to their needs
give strengths of Ainsworth’s strange situation
the testing procedure has become a paradigm, accepted method of assessing attachments.
the stress can be justifiable as it uses everyday scenarios.
give limitations of Ainsworth’s strange situation
it assumes that attachment types are fixed characteristics of children, but classification can change if family circumstances alter.
artificial, lab based, mum & stranger acting to a script - lacks ecological validity.
focus too much on infant behaviour, not mum’s.
unethical - deliberately stresses infants
what is the procedure for Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s cross-cultural patterns of attachment?
meta-analysis, 32 studies, 8 countries.
used strange situation method.
what are the findings of Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s cross-cultural patterns of attachmet?
overall attachment was type A - 21%, B - 67%, C - 12%.
highest proportion of type A attachment was found in German samples.
type A found more in Western cultures, type C found more in China, Israel & Japan.
intra-cultural differences were greater than inter-cultural differences - eg in 1 USA sample there was 94% type A attachments, in another sample there was only 47%.
what are the conclusions of Ijzendoorn & Kronnenberg’s cross-cultural patterns of attachment?
there is a difference in the pattern of cross-cultural attachment types across cultures.
overall patterns of attachment types were similar to what Ainsworth found.
what are the strengths of Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s cross-cultural patterns of attachment?
as intra-cultural differences were often found in different samples from the same researcher, it suggests differences not due to methodological differences
what are the limitations of Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s cross-cultural patterns of attachment?
no data from other parts of the world, eg Africa, so universal conclusions can’t be drawn.
imposed etic - researchers analyse findings in a biased manner, in terms of their own cultural beliefs, wrong imposing cultural-specific beliefs onto other cultures.
