Ainsworths Strange Situation PsychBoost

• Ainsworth's technique for assessing attachment


  The Strange Situation
• Ainsworth expanded on Bowlby's work, identifying key behaviors that indicate the strength of an infant's attachment to their caregiver
• Behaviors indicating attachment


  • Infants maintaining closeness to their mother, using her as a secure base for exploration
  • Infants demonstrating anxiety around strangers
  • Infants showing distress when separated from their mother
  • Infants' reaction when reunited with their mother
  • How well the mother can interpret and respond to their infant's needs
• Ainsworth's three types of infant attachment


  • Insecure avoidant (type A)
  • Secure (type B)
  • Insecure resistant (type C)
• Insecure avoidant (type A) attachment


  • Infants keep a certain level of detachment from their mothers
  • Explore environment freely without frequently turning to mother
  • Limited stranger anxiety
  • Little to no distress when separated, indifferent reaction upon return
  • Mirrored in mothers' less responsive behaviors
• Secure (type B) attachment


  • Infants feel confident exploring surroundings, but return to mother as a safe base when encountering strangers
  • Moderate stranger anxiety, distressed when mother leaves but positive and quick recovery when she returns
  • Due to caregivers' sensitive and consistent responsiveness
• Insecure resistant (type C) attachment


  • Infants less confident in exploring surroundings, clingy to mother
  • High anxiety around strangers, very distressed when separated
  • Complex emotions when mother returns - desire for closeness but also resentment
  • Mirrors unpredictable nature of caregivers
• The Strange Situation


  A structured observational technique with two observers, designed to reveal infant and mother's responses across different stages
• Ainsworth's research identified three primary attachment styles based on patterns of behavior during the Strange Situation
• Attachment styles identified by Ainsworth

  • Secure type B
  • Insecure avoidant type A
  • Insecure resistant type C
• Secure type B infants


  • Most common, making up 2/3 of the sample
  • Displayed moderate stranger anxiety and distress when mother departed, but easily comforted when she returned
  • Suggests trust in caregiver's responsiveness
• Insecure avoidant type A infants

  • Second most common at 22% of the sample
  • Had low stranger anxiety, appeared indifferent to mother's departure and return
  • Typically associated with mothers showing low sensitive responsiveness
• Insecure resistant type C infants


  • Rarest type at 12% of the sample
  • Showed intense distress during separation, ambivalent behavior when mother returned
  • Often associated with inconsistent motherly responsiveness
• Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg

  
  

  meta-analysis of attachment studies in 8 countries found secure attachment was most prevalent, but cultural differences in other attachment styles
• Germany had the most avoidant infants, Japan and Israel the highest resistant attachment, China the lowest secure attachment, UK the most secure</b>
• Ainsworth's Strange Situation was developed by Mary Salter Ainsworth, who observed that children showed different patterns of behavior when separated from their mothers.