Types Of Attachment: The ‘Strange Situation’ Flashcards
Aim of Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’ (1969) study
To assess the quality of attachment between infants and their caregivers by observing how infants responded to separation and reunion, as well as the presence of a stranger.(attachment behaviour)
What did the sample in Ainsworth’s (1969)“strange Situation’ consist of?
white MC American babies aged 12-18 months and their mothers
What type of observation did AInsworth use
Controlled observation
Procedure of Ainsworth’s (1969) ‘Strange Situation’ study
-Consisted of 8 episodes, each lasting 3 minutes:
1. Baby is encouraged to explore by the caregiver (play together)
2. Parent sits while infant plays
3.Stranger enters and talks to parent and tries to interact with infant
4.Parent leaves, infant plays and stranger offers comfort to child if needed
5.Parent returns, greets infant and offers comfort if needed. Stranger leaves
6.Caregiver leaves again and infant is left alone
7. The stranger re-enters and interacts with the infant
8. The stranger re-enters and interacts with the infant
What setting was the study conducted in
Lab
Findings of Ainsworth’s (1970) ‘Strange Situation’ study
-Combined data from several studies and identified three main attachment types in infants based on their behaviour during separations and reunions with their caregiver
-Secure attachment- 66%
-Insecure avoidant attachment- 22%
-Insecure resistant attachment -12%
Behaviour shown in a secure attachment
-Mum used as a secure base for exploration (happy to explore when around)
-Shows moderate separation and stranger anxiety
-Requires and enthusiastically accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion
Behaviour shown in an insecure avoidant attachment
-Doesn’t seek proximity to caregiver or shows secure base behaviour (plays freely)
-Little to no separation/ stranger anxiety
-Doesn’t require comfort on reunion- avoids comfort
Behaviour shown in an insecure resistant attachment
-Seeks high proximity to caregiver and less likely to explore (no secure base behaviour)
-Shows high separation and stranger anxiety
-Seeks and resists comfort on reunion with caregiver
% of babies with a secure attachment
66%
% of babies with an insecure avoidance attachment
22%
% of babies with an insecure resistant attachment
12%
Evaluation of Ainsworth’s (1970) ‘Strange Situation’
-Reliability
-Validity (predictive) -CP
-May be a culture bound test
-May overlook other types of attachment
Does Ainsworth’s study have a high reliability?
Yes
-Highly reliable due to its clear standardized procedures and controlled observation. The study consists of eight episodes, each lasting three minutes, providing a structured and consistent approach to measuring attachment behaviors.
-Ainsworth also employed a clear coding system for classifying attachment styles, and trained observers were used to ensure accurate measurements.
-Research by Bick et al. (2012) demonstrated the high inter-rater reliability of the study, with an impressive correlation of 0.94, indicating that different observers were in strong agreement when classifying attachment styles.
-As a result, the study is considered reliable, producing consistent results with very high levels of agreement between observers. This strong inter-rater reliability reinforces the reliability of the Strange Situation as a tool for assessing infant attachment.
Which type of validity is the strange situation high in
Predictive validity
Why is the ‘strange situation’ high in predictive validity
-Attachment types identified in infancy have been shown to correlate with later developmental outcomes. E.G research by McCormick found that securely attached children are more likely to experience success at school and develop positive social relationships. In contrast, insecure-resistant attachment has been linked to more negative outcomes, including increased risk of bullying and adult mental health issues.
-These findings support the validity of the Strange Situation, as they show that early attachment classifications can reliably predict future emotional and social development, highlighting the long-term importance of early attachment experiences.
How does Kagan criticise the predictive validity of the strange situation
-May just be measuring genetic differences, meaning the strange situation may not actually measure attachment
Does the strange situation study have external validity
NO- conducted in a controlled lab setting rather than a natural environment. The artificial nature of the setup, including the unfamiliar room and the presence of a stranger, does not reflect the child’s everyday experiences or typical play environment= behavior observed may not accurately represent how the child would respond in real-life situations, limiting the generalisability of the findings to everyday attachment behavior outside the lab.
Does the strange situation have populational validity
NO- MC US sample so an be generalised and is not representative of the wider population
Is the strange situation a culture bound test?
-YES- Developed in the USA and based on Western norms and expectations of child-rearing. This introduces cultural bias, as the procedure may not have the same meaning or measure the same constructs in other cultures.
-E.G Takahashi (1986) found that Japanese infants displayed unusually high levels of distress during separation, not because they were insecurely attached, but because they are rarely separated from their mothers in Japanese culture.
-This suggests that the Strange Situation may not accurately assess attachment in all cultural contexts, making it difficult to determine what is actually being measured across different societies.
What other types of attachment does the strange situation overlook
-Main and Solomon (1986), who identified a fourth attachment type—disorganised attachment (Type D). This attachment style is characterized by a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviors, typically observed in infants who have experienced severe neglect or abuse. Type D infants are rare and are often linked to later psychological disorders.
While this addition highlights the limitations of Ainsworth’s original classification, it also suggests that her system is still adequate for describing the normal variations in attachment. The introduction of Type D shows that Ainsworth’s framework may have overlooked some extreme cases of attachment disturbance, but it remains a valid and reliable method for categorizing typical attachment styles in most children.
What attachment behaviours did Ainsworth assess in the study
- secure base behaviour
- separation anxiety
- Stranger anxiety
- Behaviour on reunion with parent
