Att - Ainsworth's strange situation

Question 1

Types of attachment (Ainsworth)

Answer 1

• Secure attachment; strong bond between child and its caregiver. If they are separated the child becomes distressed. When reunited, the child is easily comforted by the caregiver.
• Insecure-avoidant attachment; if separated from caregiver, child does not become distressed and can usually be comforted by a stranger. This type of attachment is shown by children who generally avoid social interactions and intimacy with others.
• Insecure-resistant attachment; Child is often uneasy around their caregiver, but becomes upset when separated. Comfort cannot be given by strangers, and it’s also often resisted from the caregiver.

Question 2

Ainsworth’s study and its evaluation

Answer 2

Ainsworth’s strange situation
- Controlled observation where infants were exposed to 8 different scenarios including, being approached by a stranger, being left alone and the mother returning.
Found:
- 15% of infants were insecure-avoidant: ignored mother and didn’t mind if they left, stranger could comfort them
- 70% were securely attached: Content with mother, upset when she left and happy when she returned, avoided strangers
- 15% were insecure-resistant: uneasy around their mothers, upset if she left, resisted strangers and hard to comfort when their mother returned

EV:
- Good inter-rater reliability; this may be because it’s under controlled conditions and the behavioural categories are easy to observe
- Cultural differences; cannot be generalisable outside of a individualist culture (USA) if even that …
- Temperament, innate behaviour thought to have biological basis, may be a confounding variable