Strange situation Flashcards
(11 cards)
What was the aim of the research?
To investigate individual differences in attachment
What are the stages of the strange situation?
1) Mother + infant alone in room, infant allowed to explore
2) Stranger joins mother + infant
3) Stranger approaches infant
4) Mother leaves infant + stranger alone
5) Mother returns + stranger leaves
6) Mother leaves infant left completely alone
7) Stranger returns and offers comfort to infant
8) Mother returns stranger leaves
What are the 4 behavioural categories assessed?
- Safe base
- Separation anxiety
- Stranger anxiety
- Reunion behaviour
What were the findings of Ainsworth’s strange situation briefly
3 Type of attachment
- Secure
- Insecure avoidant
- Insecure resistant
What is type B attachment
- secure attachment
- will use their mother as safe base to explore
- distress when mother leaves
- avoidant of stranger but friendly when mother present
- Positive and happy when mother returns
- 66%
What is type A attachment
- insecure avoidant
- infant happy to explore with or without mother
- infant shows no sign of intense distress
- infant is okay with stranger and plays normally when stranger is present
- infant shows little interest when mother returns
22%
What is type C attachment
- infant cries more and explores less than others
- infant shows signs of intense distress
- infant avoids stranger, shows fear of stranger
- child approaches mother but resists contact, may even push her away
- 12%
A03 - Limitation is if it accurately measures the attachment type or the relationship of one particular parent (LOW INTERNAL VALIDITY)
- Main and Weston found that children will behave differently depending on the parent they are with
- Suggests that the classification of an attachment type may not be valid because we are only measuring one relationship rather than the personal characteristics of the infant
- However, Bowlby’s view of monotropy argues that the attachment type is largely dependent one one special realtionship
- Main tested a group of children and reassessed them at age 9 using the AAI (adult attachment interview) finding that attachment type seemed to be influenced by the mother
- Therefore supports Bowlby’s concept of monotropy and the internal validity of the SS (i.e. it was measuring what it intended to measure)
A03 - Limitation is that subsequent research has found that Ainsworth overlooked another attachment type
- Main and Solomon analysed over 200 strange situation videotapes and proposed the insecure-disorganised type D attachment
- This is characterised by a lack of consistent patterns of social behaviour, some infants don’t have a consistent attachment type and lack a coherent strategy to deal with stress of seperation
- Van Ijzendoorn et al further supported this with a meta-analysis of nearly 80 studies in the U.S. Found 15% insecure disorganised
- Suggests that Ainsworth original conclusions were oversimplified and do not account for all attachment types
A03 - Strength is that it has high reliablity
- Ainsworth’s research has high interobserver reliability
- Ainsworth found almost perfect agreement when rating exploratory behaviour
- found a .94 agreement between raters
- Increased the strength of SS as the findings are reliable
A03 - Limitation is that it is culturally biased
- The SS is not a valuable measure in assessing behaviours worldwide
- SS is designed by an American and willingness to explore is a sign of secure attachment
- However in some cultures dependence is seen as securely attached
- The SS has ethnocentric beliefs as Ainsworth’s ideas are culturally relative to Western communties
- Therefore this decreases the validity of the SS as it may not be appropriate to use to use for different countries.
