Strange Situation

• what is the strange situation?

  • controlled observational study by Ainsworth
  • observing a babies through a two-way mirror to asses their attachment towards their mother and the quality of the attchment
• what was the aim of the Strange Situation?

  to identify attachment types of an infant to its parent

  • attachment types: secure attachment, insecure-resistant, insecure -avoidant
• What was the sample of the Strange Situation?

  100 middle class American mothers and their babies
• what was the method used in the Strange situation?

  • observing a mother and her baby (9-18months old) in a controlled environment
  • there were 7 distinct episodes each lasting 3 minutes
  • these episodes involved the infants being assessed on their response to a stranger& being alone with the stranger, playing in an unfamiliar room and being left alone by their mother then reunited with their mother
• what were the 4 main infant-caregiver behaviours in the SS?

  • stranger anxiety
  • separation anxiety
  • infants willingness to explore/ using parents as a secure base
  • reunion behaviour