Ainsworth's strange situation

• The strange situation was designed by Mary Ainsworth (1969).​ The aim was to be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver.​
• The strange situation is a controlled observation procedure designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver, including 100 middle-class Americans & their infants.​ It took place in a room with controlled conditions e.g. a laboratory and a two-way mirror through which psychologists could observe the infant's behaviour.​
• 5 behaviours used to judge attachment included:

  1. Proximity seeking
  2. Exploration and secure-base behaviours
  3. Stranger anxiety
  4. Separation anxiety
  5. Response to reunion
• Proximity-seeking behaviour is when an infant stays fairly close to their caregiver who they are attached to.
• Exploration and secure-base behaviours are when a strong, positive attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base (point of contact that makes them feel safe).
• Stranger anxiety is when an infant becomes distressed when a stranger approaches.
• Separation anxiety is when an infant becomes distressed when they are separated from their caregiver.
• Response to reunion is how the infant reacts to the caregiver coming back after a short period of separation.
• The procedure:

  1. mother sits; child is on the floor free to explore which tests exploration and secure-base behaviour
  2. stranger enters; tries to interact with infant which tests stranger anxiety
  3. caregiver leaves the child and stranger together which tests separation anxiety
  4. caregiver returns and the stranger leaves which tests reunion behaviours and exploration and secure-base behaviours
  5. caregiver leaves the child alone which tests separation anxiety
  6. the stranger returns which tests stranger anxiety
  7. caregiver returns and is reunited with the child which tests reunion response
• Ainsworth et al identified three main types of attachment:

  • secure attachment (type B)
  • insecure-avoidance attachment (type A)
  • insecure-resistant attachment (type C)
• Secure attachment (type B): ​

  • Children explore happily but regularly go back to caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base behaviour). ​
  • They usually show moderate separation and stranger anxiety. ​
  • They require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage. ​
  • About 60-75% of British toddlers are classified as secure.​
• Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A): ​

  • These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. ​
  • Show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns. ​
  • They also show little stranger anxiety and they do not require comfort at the reunion stage. ​
  • About 20-25% of toddlers are classified as insecure-avoidant.​
• Insecure-resistant attachment (Type C): ​

  • These children seek greater proximity than others so explore less. ​
  • They show huge stranger and separation anxiety but they resist comfort when reunited with their carer. ​
  • Around 3% of British toddlers are classified as insecure-resistant.​
• A weakness of Ainsworth's strange situation is that it has low population validity. This is because the sample only included 100 middle-class Americans and their infants so does not take into account how infants from different classes or cultural backgrounds could show different attachment behaviours. This limits the findings from this research as it is unlikely that it is representative of the wider population.
• A strength of Ainsworth's strange situation is its controlled and standardised methodology. The research was conducted in a controlled, lab environment with clear replicable stages designed to observe infant behaviour such as proximity seeking, stranger anxiety etc. to judge the quality of attachment. This meant that the observations made could be as consistent and reliable as possible. This strengthens the study as its standardised procedure means that the conclusions can be seen as valid and reliable.
• A weakness of Ainsworth's strange situation is that it has been criticised as being culturally biased. The method was developed in the USA, and the attachment behaviours seen as "secure" and "insecure" may not have the same meaning outside of the US, so the findings cannot be generalised to other cultures. For example, Takahashi (1990) noted that the findings don't apply to Japan as infants are less commonly separated from their mothers so they are often classified as "insecure-resistant". Ergo, limiting this study as it might not accurately reflect attachment across different cultures.
• A strength of Ainsworth's strange situation is that it has strong predictive validity. It has been found that securely attached children tend to have better social skills, emotional regulation and relationship stability as they grow older. Whereas, insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes including bullying in later childhood (Kokkinos, 2007) and adult mental health problems (Ward et al., 2006).​ This strengthens the validity of the study as it can explain future outcomes related to a child's social and emotional development.