Ainsworths Strange situation and the types of attachment Flashcards
what was Ainsworth and Bell’s (1970) strange situation procedure?
Ainsworth and Bell carried out a controlled observation of 100 middle-class American infants (12-18 months) and their mothers. the infants were observed through a two-way mirror and/or cameras, with their mothers during a series of predetermined activities. the aim was to measure the security a baby displays towards a caregiver. there were 7 steps, all lasting 3 minutes.
what were the 7 episodes to the strange situation and what were each step measuring?
- the baby is placed on the floor and encouraged to explore
- testing exploration and secure base - a stranger comes in, talks to the caregiver and approaches the baby
- test stranger anxiety - caregiver leaves the baby and stranger alone with each other
- test separation and stranger anxiety - caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
- test reunion behaviour and exploration/ secure base - caregiver leaves baby alone
- test separation anxiety - stranger returns
- test stranger anxiety - caregiver returns and is reunited with the baby
- test reunion behaviour
what is proximity seeking?
a baby with good quality attachments stay fairly close to the caregiver
what is exploration and secure-base behaviour?
good attachments enable a baby to feel confident to explore using the caregiver as a secure base
what is stranger anxiety?
it is a sign of becoming closely attached when an infant displays a sense of anxiety when a stranger approaches
what is separation anxiety?
it is a sign of becoming attached when they protest at separation from their caregiver
what is response to reunion?
it s when babies who are securely attached greet their caregivers return with pleasure and seek comfort
what were Ainsworth and Bell’s findings for the strange situation?
they found that there were fairly distinct patterns in which the children behaved in the SSP. they identified 3 kinds of attachment.
what are the 3 kinds of attachment?
Type A- insecure-avoidant attachment
Type B- secure attachment
Type C- insecure-resistant attachment
what is insecure-avoidant attachment (type A)?
- 22% of infants were classified in this group
they: - did not seem concerned with their mothers absence
- played whether the mother was present or not
- treated the mother and stranger in a similar way
- showed little interest in the mother and avoided contact with her when she returned.
Mothers sometimes ignored their infants
what is a secure-attachment (type B)?
66% of infants were classified in this group
they:
- were subdued and distressed when the mother left
- tended to explore the unfamiliar room (mother used as a safe base for exploration)
0 were wary of strangers and treated them differently to the mother, but were still happy to play whilst mothers are present
- greeted mother positively when returned
Mothers were being described as being sensitive
what is the insecure-resistant attachment (type C)?
-12% of infants were classified in this group
they:
- showed intense distress when mother left
- were fussy and clingy to the mother when she was present
- were wary of the stranger even when the mother was present
- rejected their mother when she returned; sought contact but appeared angry and resisted it
Mothers behaved ambiently (in a contradictory way) towards their infants
AO3: how is ‘the SSP has good validity’ a strength to the strange situation?
the type of attachment a child is classified as displaying has been shown to be able to predict aspects of a baby’s later development (predictive validity)
McCormick et al (2006) found that securely attached children tend to have better mental health in adulthood
Whereas insecurely attached children and those who do not it into a category tend to show the worst outcomes.
this suggests that the SSP measures something real and meaningful in a baby’s development.
AO3: how is ‘good reliability with the SSP’ a strength to the strange situation?
the SSP has been tested for inter-rather reliability. (the level of agreement between different observers)
Bick et al (1994) found that a team of trained observers agreed on attachment type in 94% of cases
This suggests that we can e fairly confident in the assessments of attachment type when they are measured by the SSP. they are not just a product of subjective judgements, it appears to be a consistent tool for measuring attachment types.
AO3: how is ‘challenges to the validity of the SSP’ a limitation of the strange situation?
the validity of Ainsworth classification of attachment type has been challenged by Main and Solomon (1986)
they suggested that there was a type D- a fourth categorie of attachment type- a disorganised attachment. here children show signs of avoidant and resistant behaviours.
this acts as a challenge to the validity of the classification system because the classification a child was given with the original classification system does not necessarily reflect their actual attachment type.
there are also issues of ecological validity as the SSP is a controlled observation, carried out in an artificial environment. behaviour of a child and parent is likely to be affected by this and they wouldn’t behave as they would in the real world
