AO1

• Ainsworths Strange Situation:

  • lab observation
  • measured the quality of attachment + differences in attachment styles in infants
• Ainsworth:

  • wanted to measure attachment styles in a controlled way -> so devised a technique known as ‘The Strange Situation’
• Ainsworth + Bell:

  • observed 100 middle-class infants from a US University nursery
• Standardisation:

  • a standardised room was used (contained chairs, toys + one way mirror so psychologists could observe)
  • room was standardised in that the furniture + toys were always in the same place -> they layout was the same for all participants
  • only mothers were used as primary caregivers (PCG)
• Procedure:

  1. mother + infant are left to play + child is encouraged to explore
  2. stranger enters the room and attempts to interact with infant
  3. mother leaves while stranger is in the room
  4. mother returns + stranger leaves
  5. mother leaves
  6. stranger returns
  7. mother returns + stranger leaves
• Ainsworth was looking for:

  • how willing infant was to explore the room?
  • how infant reacted to the stranger?
  • how infant reacted to being left?
  • how infant reacted upon reunion with with mother?
• Results (three classifications):

  Type A: Insecure Avoidant -> 15% of infants

  Type B: Secure -> 70% of infants

  Type C: Insecure Resistant -> 15%
• Conclusion:

  • mothers behaviour towards infant will predict attachment type -> she called this ‘Caregiver Sensitivity Hypothesis’
  • the fact that the majority of the infants in her study were securely attached seemed to support this hypothesis