Ainsworth Strange Situations

• The Strange Situation Methodology

  •This is a controlled observation designed to measure the security of attachment that a child displays towards a caregiver.•It takes place in a room with quite controlled conditions (i.e. a laboratory).•About 100 middle-class American infants and their mothers took part.•It consisted of a series of structured situations in a specific order.
• Attachment types

  Type A – ‘avoider’ - Type B – ‘best’ - Type C – ‘clingy’
• Attachment types

  •Type A – insecure-avoidant attachment. These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and they make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns. They also show little stranger anxiety. They do not require comfort at the reunion stage. In Ainsworth’s study, 15% of infants had this attachment type. In the UK, 20-25% of infants are classified as insecure-avoidant.
• Attachment Types

  •Type B – secure attachment. These children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base behaviour). They usually show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety. They require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage. In Ainsworth’s study, 70% of infants had this attachment type. In the UK, 60-75% of infants are classified as secure.
• Attachment Types

  •Type C – insecure-resistant attachment. These children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less.  They show huge stranger and separation distress, but they resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver. In Ainsworth’s study, 15% of infants had this attachment type. In the UK, 3% of infants are classified as insecure-resistant.