Ainsworth

• The Strange Situation:

  1. Child and caregiver enter an unfamiliar room.

  2. The caregiver sits on one of the chairs and reads a magazine, whilst the child is encouraged to play and explore.

  3. A stranger enters and tries to interact with the infant.

  4. The caregiver leaves and the stranger interacts with the infant.

  5. The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves.

  6. The caregiver leaves the child alone.

  7. The stranger returns and tries to interact with the child.

  8. The caregiver returns and is reunited with the child.
• Behavioural Categories of the study:

  • To investigate response to reunion:
  • Smiling/Joy
  • Not noticing reunion.
  • To investigate exploration and secure base behaviour:     
  • How far do they explore away from their caregiver?
  • Are they scared and timid or curious?
  • To investigate separation anxiety:
  • Do they follow the mother to the door?
  • Do they not take their gaze away from the door?
  • Do they return to the mother’s empty chair?
  • To investigate stranger anxiety:
  • Do they cry?
  • Are they distraught?
  • Are they easily pacified?
  • Are they happy or sad?
• The Strange Situation: Process:

  • Aim was to measure the security of attachment a child shows to their caregiver.
  • She used a controlled observation and 100 American infants (9 - 18 months).
  • Her team of Psychologists observed the child’s behaviour through a 2-way mirror.
  • Observations were made every 15 seconds, time sampling.
  • Behavioural categories were used to make observations.
• The Strange Situation: Findings:

  • Ainsworth found three patterns of attachment.
  • Insecure avoidant: 20 – 25% (Type A)
  • Secure: 60 – 75% (Type B)
  • Insecure resistant: 3% (Type C)
  • Ainsworth suggested that attachment type was determined by mother-child relationships and is heavily influenced by the mother’s behaviour.