strange sit

Question 1

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Answer 1

A controlled observation used to assess types of attachment in 9-18 month old infants. The observation involves placing a child and their mother in a novel environment of mild stress, where they would be observed and videoed through a one-way mirror during a series of eight different situations.

Question 2

Four key behaviors measured in the Strange Situation

Answer 2

Exploration behaviors, separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, and reunion behaviors are measured in the Strange Situation to assess attachment types in infants.

Question 3

Three attachment classifications

Answer 3

Depending on how the child responds in the Strange Situation, they can be classified as secure, insecure-avoidant, or insecure-resistant. Ainsworth’s original experiment found the following distribution of attachment types: securely attached - 66%, insecure-avoidant - 22%, and insecure-resistant - 12%.

Question 4

Methodological weakness of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Answer 4

A methodological weakness of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is the type of observation used, which was an overt observation. The parents knew they were being observed through the one-way mirror and may have displayed demand characteristics, altering the children’s behavior and lowering the internal validity of the experiment.

Question 5

Culture bias in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Answer 5

A culture bias exists in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation because her theory and methods were based on Western ideals in relation to infant behavior, categorizing a higher proportion of children from other cultures as insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant.

Question 6

Reliability of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Answer 6

The Strange Situation method of assessing attachment type is said to have high reliability since observations took place under strict and controlled methods using predetermined behavioral categories. Ainsworth et al. (1978) found 94% agreement between observers, ensuring the validity of the experiment.

Question 7

Fourth type of attachment classification

Answer 7

Main and Solomon (1986) suggested that Ainsworth overlooked a fourth type of attachment classification, insecure-disorganized, which was noted in some infants who showed inconsistent patterns of behavior. Van Ijzendoorn et al. (1999) found that 15% of infants were classified as Type D, supporting the claim that Ainsworth’s original assessment of attachment is unable to fully explain all of the different types of attachments in children.