Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

• Outline Ainsworth's Strange Situation experiment.

  Ainsworth conducted an observational lab experiment to examine the attachment between mothers and children (about 100 white, middle class infants and their mothers participated) in an unknown environment - it involved the infant being either alone, with a stranger, or with their mother (who would leave and return). Four behaviours were measured: reunion behaviour, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and using the mother as a safe base. From these findings, Ainsworth concluded there were 3 types of attachment (Secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant) with secure attachment as the most common. She also concluded the sensitivity of the caregiver determines attachment type.
• Define all four behaviours which were measured to classify attachment type in the Strange Situation.

  - Reunion behaviour: behaviour on being united with their caregiver.

  - Stranger anxiety: the amount of distress that babies experience when they meet people who are unfamiliar to them.

  - Separation anxiety: the amount of distress when away from the primary caregiver.

  - Using the mother as a safe base: when the infant is more confident to explore the environment because the caregiver is there for reassurance.
• Explain secure attachment in terms of the four measured behaviours.

  -Infants show proximity seeking and secure-base behaviour towards their caregiver.

  -Moderate separation anxiety is seen.

  -Moderate stranger anxiety is seen.

  -Reunion behaviour involves the need for comfort from the caregiver.

  
  

  Ainsworth stated this was because the caregiver had sensitivity to the infants needs.
• Explain insecure attachment in terms of the four measured behaviours.

  -Infants do not show proximity seeking or secure-base behaviour.

  -Little or no reaction seen to the caregiver leaving.

  -Little or no stranger anxiety is seen.

  -Infants do not make an effort to seek a caregiver upon reunion, with avoidance of the caregiver instead observed.

  
  

  Ainsworth stated this was because the mother was insensitive to the needs of the infant and showed little interest.
• Explain insecure resistant (ambivalent) attachment in terms of the four measured behaviours.

  -Infants show high levels of proximity seeking and secure-base behaviour.

  -High levels of separation anxiety are seen.

  -High levels of stranger anxiety are seen.

  -Reunion behaviour involves the infant resisting comfort.

  
  

  Ainsworth stated this was because the caregiver was inconsistent in meeting the child's needs.
• What is a positive criticism of the Strange Situation study? (predictability)

  A strength of the attachment types defined by the study is that they have strong predictability for later development. For example, infants assessed as securely attached tend to go on to have better outcomes in terms of success at work and romantic relationships, whereas insecure resistant attachment is associated with bullying later on in childhood (Kokkinos) and adult mental health problems (Ward). This means there is evidence for high validity of the concept of attachment types developed by Ainsworth.
• What is a strength of the Strange Situation study? (intra-rater reliability)

  A strength of the Strange Situation is that it shows very good intra-rater reliability, as different observers watching the same child in the Strange Situation usually agree on what attachment type to classify them. This may be because it was carried out in controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe. Bick found that observers agreed on the attachment type for 94% of tested infants. This means that we can be confident that attachment types of an infant identified in the Strange Situation is not subjective to the observer.
• What is a limitation of the Strange Situation? (another attachment type).

  However, although the study has expanded our knowledge of attachment, it could be argued that only having three attachment types is too restrictive and that not all children will fit into these categories. Soloman and Main found a fourth attachment type called disorganised attachment, therefore giving evidence that the three types gives us a limited scope.
• What is a limitation of the Strange Situation? (generalisation)

  However, the experiment was not a representative sample because Ainsworth used only white middle-class Americans as participants. Therefore, as generalisations shouldn't be made from this, it can be argued that the research lacks population validity.
• What is a limitation of the Strange Situation? (artificial environment)

  A further criticism is that the experiment was conducted in an artificial environment and therefore the results may lack validity due to demand characteristics interfering, for example the mothers may have behaved differently whilst in the lab setting. This means it can be argued that the research has low ecological validity.
• What is a limitation of the Strange Situation? (not suitable for use in other cultures).

  A limitation of the Strange Situation is that, as it was created by Western psychologists, it may not be suitable for use in other cultures. Takahashi studied 60 Japanese children in 1990 using the Strange Situation, and 90% of the experiments conducted had to be stopped because the infant became so distressed at separation. Therefore, the Strange Situation may not measure attachment accurately in other cultures.
• What is a limitation of the Strange Situation? (ethical grounds)

  A limitation of the Strange Situation is that it has been criticised on ethical grounds. As the child is put under stress (separation and stranger anxiety), the study has broken the ethical guidelines for the protection of participants, which means that it is unethical. However, in its defence, the separation periods were ended prematurely if the child became too stressed.