attachment - Ainsworth Strange Situation

• aim - 


  observe infants behaving under stress and novelty
• sample

  • american middle class infants (9-18months)
• research methods

  • observation
  • measures
• • separation anxiety
  • stranger anxiety
  • reunion behaviour
  • exploration
• findings

  • main 3 attachment types
  • secure
  • insecure avoidant
  • insecure resistant
• conclusions

  • children can be classified into 3 different attachment types
• ethical issues

  • protection from psychological harm
• classification of behaviour - secure, IS avoidant , IS resistant

  1. willing to explore ; high , high , low
  2. stranger anxiety ; high , low , high
  3. separation anxiety ; some - easy to soothe, indifferent , distressed
  4. reunion with caregiver ; enthusiastic, avoid contact ,seeks and rejects
  5. caregiver ; sensitive , may ignore infant, ambivalent
  6. percentage of infants ; 66% , 22% , 12%
• Evaluation

  1. reliability -> inter-observer reliability, perfect agreement
  2. Real -life application ->circle of security project, better understand their infants signals of distress ; improve children lives
  3. Lacks validity -> intends to measure general attachment type not infants attachment type to mother, demand characteristics ; internal and external
  4. outliers from attachment types -> suggests 4th type , disorganised ; ainsworth put infants in categories they don't belong in.