Social influence - Ainsworth

• What were the aims of Ainsworths Strange Situation experiment?

  To observe and classify the attachment styles of infants to their primary caregivers in a controlled artificial setting.
• What was the procedure of

  Ainsworths experiment?

  A structured observational method used to assess infant attachment patterns, involving eight episodes with the infant, caregiver and a stranger in an unfamiliar playroom, observing the infants responses to separations and reunions.
• What is separation anxiety?

  How the child reacts when the caregiver leaves.
• What is stranger anxiety?

  How the infant reacts to being alone with a stranger.
• What is reunion behaviour?

  How the child behaves when caregiver returns.
• What is exploration?

  How freely the child explores its environment using the caregiver as a safe base.
• What percentage of the infants had a secure attachment in the experiment?

  70%
• What percentage of the infants had an insecure - resistant attachment?

  15%
• What percentage of the infants had an insecure - avoidant attachment?

  15%
• What characteristics does a child with a secure attachment show?

  Able to separate from parent, seek comfort from parents when frightened, return of parents is met with positive emotions and prefers parents to strangers.
• What characteristics will an adult show who had a secure attachment as a child?

  Trust and long lasting relationships, tend to have good self esteem, comfortable sharing feelings with friends and partners and seek out social support.
• What characteristics does a child with a resistant attachment show?

  May be wary of strangers, become greatly distressed when parents leave and do not appear to be comforted by the return of the parent.
• What characteristics does an adult show if they had a resistant attachment as a child?

  Reluctant to become close to others, worry that their partner does not love them and become very distraught when relationship ends.
• What characteristics does a child show if it has an avoidant attachment?

  May avoid attachment, does not seek much comfort or contact with parents and shows little or no preference between parent and stranger.
• What characteristics do children who grew up with an avoidant attachment show as an adult?

  May have problems with intimacy, invests little emotion in social and romantic relationships and unable or unwilling to share thoughts and feelings with others.
• Who later on added the 4th attachment style called ‘disorganised attachment’?

  Main and Solomon (1986).
• What are the characteristic’s of disorganised attachment at 1 years old?

  Show a mixture of avoidant and resistant behaviours, may seem dazed, confused or apprehensive.
• What are the characteristics of disorganised attachment at 6 years old?

  May take on a parental roll, some children act as a caregiver towards the parent.
• What does Main state as a support for Ainsworths study?

  That the strange situation is a reliable measure of attachment as 100% of those identified as securely attached via the experiment were still securely attached at 6 years old.
• What support do Van Izjendoorn and Scheungal provide for Ainsworths cross - cultural studies?

  States that Ainsworths cross cultural studies in the USA and Uganda demonstrate the validity and reliability of the strange situation as these studies show consistency between parental behaviour and attachment type.
• How does Lamb et al criticise Ainsworths study?

  Found that this may not be one of the best methods for investigating attachment because of its artificial nature and mothers adapting their behaviours due to social desirability. As they knew they were being watched, it therefore lacks ecological validity.
• How does Bronfenbrenner support Lambs criticism?

  Highlighting that attachment behaviour is hugely exaggerated in the strange situation thereby distorting results. Showing a lack of ecological validity.
• How might Ainsworths strange situation study be culturally biased?

  It was created and tested in the USA so might be ethnocentric, reflecting the norms and values of American society.
• How does the strange situation oversimplify behaviour?

  The situation puts infants into three categories. Because of individual differences, all infants attach in subtly different ways.
• How is the strange situation a valid measurement?

  Children who have been shown to be securely attached usually have more positive social and emotional development.
• How is an overt observation an issue in the Strange Situation experiment?

  The mothers knew they were being watched and so as a result, there may have been demand characteristics where the mothers changed their behaviour to appear like excellent parents.
• How does the strange situation lack ecological validity?

  Ainsworth conducted her observation in a controlled environment, and therefore the children may have acted differently to how they would act in a more familiar environment.