Strange Situation

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Created by
Summer H

Cards (18)

  • Ainsworth's Strange Situation investigated: Proximity seeking, Secure base, Stranger anxiety, Separation anxiety
  • Proximity seeking is behaviour that seeks to restore closeness when separated
  • Secure base is a place from which an infant feels safe to go and explore while regularly returning
  • Stranger anxiety is distress an infant experiences when they meet or are left in the care of unfamiliar people
  • Separation anxiety is an expression of distress and urgent efforts to be reunited with the attachment figure
  • Ainsworth found that the three attachment types are: Secure, Insecure avoidant and Insecure resistant
  • Secure attachment is where the child is happy to explore but shows secure base behaviour , moderate separation and stranger anxiety, and requires & accepts comfort upon reuinion
  • 60-75% of British toddlers are Type B: Secure
  • Insecure-Avoidant is where the child is free to explore without secure base behaviour, shows little stranger anxiety, and shows little reaction or comfort seeking upon reunion
  • 20-25% of British toddlers are Type A: Insecure-avoidant
  • Insecure-Resistant is where children explore less and show greater proximity seeking, separation & stranger anxiety, however resist comfort upon reunion
  • 3% of British toddlers are Type C: Insecure-Resistant
  • The Strange Situation has low generalisability as it was developed in Britain & USA so only reflects western cultures
  • The Strange Situation has high inter-observer reliability (0.94) and is a lab study so can be replicated
  • The Strange Situation has real-life application e.g the Circle of Security Project gives mothers intervention strategies for poorly attached babies
  • The Strange Situation has low internal validity as it may contain confounding variables e.g unfamiliar situation, demand characteristics, and extraneous variables e.g previous daycare experiences
  • The Strange Situation has ethical issues as the babies are put in distress when separated from their mothers
  • Main & Solomon (1986) proposed Type D: Insecure-disorganised which is shown by a lack of consistent attachment behaviours