Strange Situation

Question 1

Strange situation

Answer 1

A method used to assess the quality of a baby’s attachment to a caregiver. It is a controlled lab observation (clear behaviour categories, baby assessed through two way mirror).

Question 2

5 categories of behaviour

Answer 2

• Proximity seeking behaviour
• exploration and secure base behaviour
• stranger anxiety
• separation anxiety
• reunion behaviour

Question 3

8 episodes

Answer 3

1. Caregiver and child enter room
2. Caregiver encourages baby to explore
3. Stranger enters and talks to caregiver
4. Caregiver leaves
5. Caregiver returns and stranger leaves
6. Caregiver leaves baby alone
7. Stranger returns
8. Caregiver returns

Question 4

Secure attachment

Answer 4

Baby will happily explore but will seek proximity to caregiver, has moderate stranger and separation anxiety, requires and accepts comfort from caregiver upon reunion.

Question 5

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 5

Baby explore freely and has no proximity seeking behaviour, little to no separation or stranger anxiety, unbothered during reunion.

Question 6

Insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 6

Babies explore less and seek a lot of proximity, high stranger and separation anxiety, distressed on reunion with stranger.

Question 7

Ao3 negatives:

Answer 7

• cultural bias to western cultures, when tested on Japanese children, it found that most were classed as insecure resistant and showed extreme stress, due to not being used to being left alone in early years of life.
  -The strange situation may be measuring genetic differences in anxiety (anxiety to a stranger or caregiver leaving), therefore not actually measuring attachment.

Question 8

Ao3 positives:

Answer 8

-Attachment type defined by the Strange situation was a good predictor of later development.
Securely attached infants had better outcomes (academic success, more friends and better romantic relationships).
Resistant infants were bullied, and had adult mental health problems.
- Behaviour categories were clearly defined, therefore more reliable (and objective)
- High Inter-rater reliability of attachment type: it has an almost perfect agreement when rating exploratory behaviour – 0.94 agreement.
- The strange situation may be measuring genetic differences in anxiety (anxiety to a stranger or caregiver leaving), therefore not