Ainsworth strange sit: types of att

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

-unlike bobbly who focused on the universality of att, Ainsworth interested in individuals diffs and the diff att types that infants formed w caregivers

Question 2

strange situation-procedure

Answer 2

• controlled observation to asses types of att in 9-18mths infants
• child and mother in a novel env
• 8 eps where caregiver and stranger alternatively stay w infant or leave
• observe infant response to stranger + separation anxiety and reunion behaviour
• observed through one way mirror

Question 3

strange situation-findings

Answer 3

-child response led to 1 of 3 att classifications
-66% SECURELY att:
>use mum as a safe base to explore env
>moderate levels of stranger and separation anxiety
>positive reunion response allow to settle back to exploring
-22% INSECURE AVOIDENT
> not use mother as safe base, but explore freely
>low stranger and separation anxiety
>mum show little sensitive responsiveness
>Infant shows little interest when the mother returns
-12% INSECURE RESISITENT
>not explore the environment
>inconsistent in wanting closeness/distance w mum, mirrored by mums inconsistency w sensitive responsiveness
>high stranger and separation anxiety
>unable to settle in reunion , reject attention

Question 4

low internal validity

Answer 4

-overt observation
-parents knew observed via one-way mirror
=demand characteristics as mums could be overly affectionate, altering the childs behaviour
-observations were only a snapshot of behaviour, not considering wider factors eg child rship w other family members or behaviour in familiar env
=lowering internal validity

Question 5

high inter-observer reliability

Answer 5

• highly operationalised
• video recorded using predetermined behavioural categories
• several observers compared ratings for an agreement on att classifications
• 94% agreement between observers = meaningful findings as inter-observer reliability is high

Question 6

real world application (+)

Answer 6

-included in intervention strategies to be developed
CIRCLE OF SECUIRITY PROJECT
-teaches caregivers to better understand infants signals of distress & increase understanding of their anxiousness
-project increased securely attached infants

Question 7

next

Answer 7

next

Question 8

culture bias

Answer 8

-SS designed by an American according to observations of US children
-therefore, criteria used to classify infants are based on US values
- Eurocentric, so observations of non-Americans will judged according to American standards
- hence why there’s a higher proportion of children from other cultures classified as insecure-avoidant (Japan) or insecure-resistant (Germany)
-‘insecure’ label contains a value judgment, that these rships are worse than ‘secure’
-this approach labels entire cultures as defective, but also criticises the rship styles of many mothers who may struggle balancing the demands of work and childcare
=research is socially sensitive + culturally biased