Measuring Attachment: Strange Situation

• Secure - most desirable as it's associated with psychologically healthy outcomes. In SS it's shown by moderate stranger + separation anxiety and ease the comfort on reunion.

  Insecure-avoidant - characterised by low anxiety but weak attachment. In SS, it's shown by low stranger anxiety + separation anxiety and little response on reunion with caregiver

  Insecure-resistant - characterised by strong attachment and anxiety. In SS, its characterised by high stranger + separation anxiety and by resistance to be comforted on reunion
• Ainsworth's Strange Situation

  • Investigates the reactions of infants to separation from their mother, to determine the nature of attachment behaviours + types of attachment.
  • A controlled observational study set in a small room with a 2-way mirror
  • American infants aged 12-18 months + their mothers. Toys were scattered in the room. There were several stages; the infant-mother pair is observed during 7 three minute episodes which are increasingly stressful for the child
  • intensity of behaviour was rated between 1-7 every 15 seconds e.g proximity seeking + stranger anxiety
• Ainsworth's Strange Situation

  Sequence of stages was:

  1. Mother + baby enter room and is encouraged to explore
  2. Stranger enters + talks to mother + gradually approaches the infant with a toy
  3. Mother leaves room
  4. Mother returns + stranger leaves
  5. Mother leaves child on its own
  6. Stranger returns + approaches the infant with a toy
  7. Mother returns + stranger leaves

  Results: 3 types of attachment and these are associated with different attachment behaviours. Key determinant of attachment type is the mother's sensitivity + responsiveness to the child
• Secure Attachment (Type B)

  • High willingness to explore, using their mother as a secure base
  • Moderate levels of stranger anxiety - wary of the stranger + preferred mother
  • Show separation anxiety by moderate levels of distress
  • Mother returns they show joy
• Insecure Avoidant (Type A)

  High willingness to explore, seem to ignore mother when she's in room

  Low levels of stranger anxiety, would approach stranger + play with them, didn't prefer mother

  Low separation anxiety, little joy when mother returns, don't seek comfort contact with her
• Insecure Resistant (Type C)

  • low willingness to explore, stay close to their mother and are very distressed in their new surroundings
  • High levels of stranger anxiety: feared the stranger and became more distressed when approached by them
  • Extreme separation anxiety
• Evaluation of Strange Situation

  + Predictive validity of attachment types - attachment type predicts later development e.g secure babies have greater success at school whereas insecure-resistant is associated with the worst outcomes. This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain future outcomes

  X Temperament is a confounding variable - others suggest it's temperament that influences quality of attachment. This challenges the validity as its intentions is to measure the quality of attachment, not the temperament of the child
• Evaluation of Strange Situation

  X Ainsworth may have missed more attachment types - Main and Solomon pointed out that some kids display atypical attachments that don't fit types A, B or C. This is disorganised attachment - mix of avoidant + resistant. This questions whether the SS is a useful method to identify attachment types

  X SS may be a culture-bound test - the test may not have the same meaning in countries outside western europe + USA (its ethnocentric), this means the children + caregivers may respond differently. Van Ijzendoorn suggests there's cultural differences in attachment