Strange situation

• Who carried out the strange situation?

  Ainsworth et al (1970)
• What was the basic procedure of the strange situation?

  • Ainsworth provided a way of measuring infants around 12-18 months old.
  • It is a controlled observation and consists of 7 lots of 3 minute episodes
• What were the 7 '3 minute episodes' like?

  1. Infant and the caregiver enter a room together with toys and comfortable furniture.
  2. Stranger joins
  3. Caregiver leaves
  4. Caregiver returns and the stranger leaves again (the last 3 repeat again with the caregiver then leaving)
• What were the key behaviours of Ainsworths' study?

  • Separation anxiety - panic felt by the infant when the caregiver leaves
  • Infant’s willingness to explore
  • Stranger anxiety - infant’s response to the stranger
  • Reunion behaviour - caregiver greeted on return
• What was insecure avoidant of the study of Ainsworth?

  • Type A: Insecure avoidant (22%)
  • Infant is not bothered by absence and avoids contact at reunion.
  • The infant does not prefer mother to the stranger 
• What was secure attachment?

  • Type B: Securely attached (66%)
  • Infant explores room when mother is present.
  • The baby is concerned when she leaves and experiences joy in reunion
  • They prefer mother to the stranger.
  • This leads to healthy emotional development
• What is insecure resistant?

  • Type C: Insecure resistant/ambivalent (12%)
  • Infant explores little when mother is present and is wary of the stranger but they do not experience joy in reunion.
  • Rather they are angry when she returns and seek while also rejecting the contact.
• What is the conclusion of Ainsworth?

  • There are individual differences between the infants but American children overall have a secure attachment.
  • There is an association with the mothers’ behaviour and the attachment type. 
• What is a positive overall evaluation of the strange situation?

  • It has high test-retest reliability.
  • When it was tested at a later date, most babies remained in the same category.
  • Germany found that 78% of children were categorised the same when tested at 1-6 years old
  • When change occurs, it is due to difference in form of care e.g change in the family structure.
  • Attachment type is consistent. 
• What is one reason for the SS not having internal validity in the strange situation?

  • This may be due to the temperament hypothesis.
  • Some infants may be born more independent or more friendly and their behaviour is due to individual differences.
  • Some infants may get more easily stressed than others so they are more vulnerable to stress and respond differently.
• What is the second reason for the SS not having internal validity in the SS?

  • It also reflects on past experience with separation with the mother and whether the infant is used to strangers.
  • It is supported by Japanese babies who appear resistant as they are with their mothers most of the time and rarely experience separation
  • They get upset and angry when she leaves as a result.
  • This reflects previous experience and not attachment type.
• What is the third reason for the SS not having internal validity in the strange situation?

  • It may reflect on demand characteristics of the mother.
  • The mother is very well aware of at least part of the aim of the study and observed it with her child.
  • The mother may then interact with the baby more than she usually does as a result.
  • For example, this could also be due to social desirability bias as she wants to be seen as a good mother. 
• What is a negative evaluation for population validity?

  • The SS may lack population validity.
  • The original study used middle class infants and may not generalise to other classes.
  • The original study used only Americans as well and this may not generalise to other cultures. 
• What is a negative evaluation regarding imposed etic?

  • SS was designed for assessing attachment in American infants and might not be valid in other cultures.
  • This is called an imposed etic approach where a technique developed in one culture is used in a different culture.
  • Cultures have different norms and may not be transferable across cultures.
  • The USA may be seen as ‘normal’ while other cultures are seen as ‘abnormal’.
  • The SS lacks cross-cultural validity.