Strange Situation

    Cards (8)

    • Strengths of Ainsworth's strange situation
      -Strange Situation is outcome predicts a number of aspects of the baby's later development- research has shown that babies and toddlers assessed as secure tend to have better outcomes than others, both in later childhood and in adulthood.
      -Good inter-rater reliability-Bick et al. (2012) tested inter-rater reliability for the Strange Situation for a team of trained observers and found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
    • Strange situation procedure
      -A controlled observation of 100 middle class US mother/child pairs. During a period of 25 minutes, infants went through a sequence of 3 minute episodes:-Infant & mother enter room, -Stranger enters, -Mother leaves infant & stranger, -Child left alone, mother returns. -Important variables are separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, & reunion behaviour.
    • Behaviours used to judge attachment in the Strange Situation
      -Proximity seeking- a baby with good quality attachment will stay close to their caregiver
      -Stranger anxiety- one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches.
    • Findings of strange situation
      -60%-70% of British babies are classified as secure (Type B).-20%-25% of British babies are classified as insecure-avoidant (Type A).-Around 3% of British babies are classified as insecure-resistant (Type C).
    • Secure attachment
      -The most desirable attachment type, shown by moderate stranger and separation anxiety, and ease of comfort at reunion.-In the strange situation, these babies explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity-seeking behaviour), show moderate separation distress and stranger anxiety.
    • Insecure-avoidant attachment
      -An attachment type characterised by low anxiety but weak attachment. -In the Strange Situation this is shown by low stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion - an avoidance of the caregiver.
    • Insecure-resistant attachment
      -An attachment type characterised by strong attachment and high anxiety.-In the strange situation this is shown by high levels of stranger and separation anxiety and by resistance to be comforted at reunion.
    • Weaknesses of Ainsworth's strange situation
      -Culture bound test- This is because cultural differences in childhood experiences may make them respond differently to the strange situation + caregivers behave differently in the strange situation
      -Factors other than attachment can influence behaviour-temperament can influence behaviour temperament more important influence on behaviour than attachment in the strange situation. Therefore temperament is a confounding variable.
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