Ainsworth Strange Situation

• Strange situation

  A controlled observation that took place in a lab
• Behaviours used to measure attachments

  • Proximity
  • Exploration and secure base behaviour - explore and use mum as point of comfort
  • Stranger anxiety
  • Separation anxiety
  • Response to reunion
• Attachment styles

  • Secure
  • Avoidant
  • Resistant
• Secure attachment


  • Explore happily but go back to caregiver
  • Show moderate signs of separation and stranger anxiety
  • Accept comfort from caregiver at reunion stage
• 60-75% of babies have secure attachment
• Avoidant attachment


  • Explore freely but don't seek proximity from caregiver
  • Little/no reaction when caregiver leaves or when there's stranger
  • Little/no effort when caregiver returns
• 20-25% of babies have avoidant attachment
• Resistant attachment


  • Seek greater proximity and so explore less
  • High levels of stranger and separation anxiety
  • Resist comfort when reunited with caregiver
• 3% of babies have resistant attachment
• Those with secure attachments


  Have better outcomes in child and adulthood, and will have better mental health and achievements
• Those with resistant attachments

  Tend to have worse outcomes
• Strength


  Good inter-rater reliability- researchers agreed on 94% of attachment type cases.

  Shows attachment type doesnt depend on subjective judgements
• Limitation


  Test may b culture bound so cant be applied to non-western cultures

  E.g. Tahakashi replicated study on Japanese babies and found high levels of separation anxiety and so lots of them were classified as having resistant attachment. But this was only because mother- baby separation was rare in Japan
• Limitation


  Maine and Solomon found that there was another attachment type- disorganised attachment which Ainsworth had missed
• The presence of disorganized attachment has been linked to experiences of abuse, neglect, or other forms of trauma during infancy.
• Disorganized attachment is associated with negative developmental outcomes such as poor cognitive functioning, emotional dysregulation, and increased risk for psychiatric disorders later in life.