the strange situation

• aim


  Ainsworth & bell

  to produce a method of assessing the quality of attachments & to investigate whether there are individual differences in attachment
• procedure

  controlled observation, 100 middle class American infants (12-18 months old) and their mothers

  seven 3-minuete episodes = mother leaves rom, re-enters room, stranger enters and leaves room

  behaviours observed - separation anxiety , willingness to explore , stranger anxiety , reunion behaviour
• findings

  3 types of attachment found

  type A - insecure avoidant

  type B - secure

  type C - insecure resistant
• type A - insecure avoidant 


  22% , indifferent to mother , no separation anxiety or joy on reunion , no preference for mother over stranger, doesn't use mother as safe base
• type B - secure

  66%, separation anxiety, joy on reunion, preference for mother over stranger, uses mother as safe base
• type C- insecure resistant

  12%, extreme distress on separation, clingy, not comforted easily
• conclusion

  there are individual difference in attachment, most american children are securely attached, appears to be association between mothers behaviour and attachment type, suggesting mothers behaviour determines attachment type
• evaluation - reliability 


  test-retest reliability = study in Germany found 78% children were classified the same at 1 and 6 years , when changes did occur they were linked to changes in family structure - attachment type is consistent over time
• evaluation - population validity

  original study used middle class infants, may not be able to generalise to other social classes , study is ethnocentric as all P's were American - may not generalise to other cultures , childcare and attachment may differ around the world
• evaluation - imposed etic approach

  was designed for measuring attachment in american infants, therefore may not be valid tool for assessing attachment in other cultures - but has been used cross-culturally = use of technique developed in one culture to study another - issue because different cultures have different norms , lacks cross-cultural validity
• evaluation - internal validity

  demand characteristics - mother aware shes being observed , knows part of the aim , might interact with baby more than normal

  social desirability bias - wants to be seen as a good mother

  experience with previous separation - supported by research about Japanese babies

  temperament hypothesis - some babies born more independent, friendly... behaviour in could be due to innate personality not attachment type
• evaluation - ethical issues

  no protection from physical harm, babies get upset which is upsetting for mother

  mother may feel unconfutable / embarrassed