strange situation & cultural variations

• Ainsworth + Bell (1970)

  -aim = to see how infants behave under different conditions (mild stress). Wanted to assess their attachment style.

  
  

  -procedures = lab setting, controlled observation, child & mother observed interacting with different scenarios (7) - done using a one way mirror. The behaviours observed were: exploration, proximity seeking, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and reunion behaviour.
• scenarios/episodes in Ainsworth + Bell's research

  -caregiver and infant go in the room and explore (testing exploration and mother as a secure base).

  -stranger enters the room and goes to the infant (testing stranger anxiety).

  -caregiver leaves, stranger interacts with infant (testing separation & stranger anxiety).

  -caregiver returns, stranger leaves (testing reunion behaviour).

  -caregiver leaves infant alone (testing separation anxiety).

  -stranger enters & interacts with infant (testing stranger anxiety).

  -caregiver returns (testing reunion behaviour).
• types of attachment

  -insecure-avoidant (type A) - "I don't care"

  -secure (type B) - "I trust you"

  -insecure-resistant (type C) - "I don't trust you"
• insecure-avoidant (type A)

  -avoids social interactions & intimacy.

  -happy to explore without the presence of their caregiver.

  -show little stranger and separation anxiety.

  -they do not actively seek the caregiver when they return.

  -20-25% of infants are this attachment.
• secure (type B)


  -have strong and good interactions with their caregiver.

  -show some stranger and separation anxiety.

  -actively seek their caregiver when they return.

  -60-75% of infants are this attachment.
• insecure-resistant (type C)

  -seek & resist social interactions and intimacy.

  -have intense stranger and separation anxiety.

  -when caregiver returns these infants seek contact with them but are also angry at them.

  -approx. 3% of infants are this attachment.
• strange situation - AO3

  Strength(s):

  -controlled setting. Can see cause & effect - increased internal validity. HOWEVER, decreased ecological validity so cannot be applied to real-life attachment.

  -application. Parents can look for specific behaviours their children do. HOWEVER, this is socially sensitive as parents could think they did something wrong. People are not protected from psychological harm.

  
  

  Weakness(es):

  -cultural bias. Research was developed in Britain and conducted on American ppts = individualistic cultures, collectivist cultures not included. Decreases the generalisability.
• cross-cultural research:

  -to see if attachments vary based on culture.

  -to see if the strange situation research is ethnocentric.
• Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988):

  -analysed 32 studies from 8 countries in a meta-analysis. -looked infants and mothers and the attachment types found in the strange situation.

  -calculated the percentages of attachment in each country.

  -found that the secure attachment is most common - 50% in China, 75% in Great Britain.

  -found similar attachments in different countries but attachment types still vary.

  -attachments are underpinned by our innate characteristics.
• Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg - AO3:

  Strength(s):

  -supports that attachment types can vary based on culture.

  -use of a meta-analysis increases the detail and validity.

  Weakness(es):

  -not fully representative as mostly western cultures were used in the meta-analysis.
• Simonelli et al (2014):

  -76 Italian were observed in the same way that the ppts in the strange situation were.

  -50% = secure attachment, 36% = insecure avoidant, 14% = insecure resistant.

  -mothers were from different educational and professional backgrounds.

  -attachment may change based on culture because of factors like how much the mother works.
• Simonelli et al - AO3:

  Strength(s):

  -supports the strange situation as findings are similar.

  Weakness(es):

  -cultural bias as only Italian babies were used.
• Jin et al (2012):

  -compared attachment types in Korea and other countries.

  -used 87 infants using the same procedure as the strange situation.

  -found that in Korea the percentage of secure and insecure resistant attachment are similar to those of the strange situation. Only one infant was insecure avoidant.

  -found that Korean mothers approached their infant faster on reunion than those in the strange situation

  -maternal sensitivity is linked to attachment.
• Jin et al - AO3:

  Strength(s):

  -supports the strange situation

  - is valid and reliable.

  Weakness(es):

  -the infants could not give informed consent.
• cultural variations - AO3:

  Strength(s):

  -indigenous researchers. Researchers from the same background as participants so they understand the behaviours presented. Increases the validity.

  Weakness(es):

  -imposed etic - same research design is being used in different cultures despite the cultures being different. Findings into attachment cannot be generalised to other cultures.

  -confounding variables - different cultures have different methodologies and characteristics. Research into attachment lacks population validity because of this and therefore cannot be applied across cultures.