mary ainsworth

• strange situation experiment carried out by mary and measures reactions to reunions and separation to caregivers
• the strange situation was devised in the 1970s and was a standardised procedure to observe attachment security
• applies to infants between the age of nine and eighteen months
• Ainsworth and Bell (1970) conducted a controlled observation recording the reactions of a child and mother (caregiver), who were introduced to a strange room with toys.
• 100 middle class american infants and their families participated
• The room was set up with a clear 9 x 9-foot floor space divided into 16 squares for recording location and movement.
• The child is observed playing for 20 minutes while caregivers and strangers enter and leave the room, recreating the flow of the familiar and unfamiliar presence in most children’s lives.
• Ainsworth & Bell observed from the other side of a one-way mirror, so the children did not know they were being observed.
• marked behavuours every 15 seconds
• The observers noted the behavior displayed during 15-second intervals and scored the behavior for intensity on a scale of 1 to 7.
• observations were in 5 groups:

  1. proximity and contact seeking
  2. contact maintaining
  3. avoidance of promixity and contact
  4. resistance to contact and comfort
  5. search behaviour
• obervers rated behaviours every 15 seconds on a scale to 7
• they were generally securely attached meaning they displayed certain characteristics:

  • confidently explore environments when their caregiver is present
  • experience moderate distress when left without their caregiver
  • show moderate stranger anxiety
  • seek comfort and are easily soothed by their caregiver