Ainsworth's Strange Situation

• Behaviours that can indicate attachment strength:

  • Proximity to mother
  • Exploration/Safebase
  • Stranger anxiety
  • Seperation anxiety
  • Reunion behaviour
  • Sensitive responsiveness
• Insecure-Avoidant Attachment


  Highly independent infants

  • Infants explore freely, with no secure base
  • Low stranger and seperation anxiety
  • Little to no reaction for leaving/reunion
  • Mothers show low sensitive responsiveness
• Secure Attachment


  Healthy bonds with caregivers

  • Use caregiver as a safe base, close proximity
  • Moderate stranger and seperation anxiety
  • Quickly soothed at reunion
  • Mothers show sensitive responsiveness
• Insecure-Resistant Attachment


  Ambivilent and lack of trust in relationships

  • High proximity seeking behaviour, clingy
  • High stranger and seperation anxiety
  • Reunion is ambivilent with mixed emotion
  • Mother shows inconsistent sensitive responsiveness
• Ainsworth's Strange Situation (1970-73)


  Lab setting observation, using 8 stages:

  1. Parent and child entering unfamiliar playroom
  2. Child encouraged to explore with parent there
  3. Stranger enters room and attempts to interact with child
  4. Parent leaves the room, left with stranger
  5. Parent returns, stranger leaves
  6. Parent leaves, child alone in room
  7. Stranger returns
  8. Parent returns, stranger leaves

  Found evidence for the attachment types:

  • Avoidant = 22%
  • Secure = 66%
  • Resistant = 12%
• (+) A03: Lab Experiment

  Highly controlled and standardised with clear behavioural categories, allows for precise replication of the study
• (+) A03: Predictive Validity

  Secure attachments have better social, emotional and intellectual outcomes found by McCarthy, with infants who have secure attachments have better adult relations
• (-) A03: Culture Bound

  Due to being an American sample, categories may not fit other cultures who are more collectivist, independent etc, presented as ethnocentric