Ainsworth's Study

• ainsworth's strange situation (1971-78) aim:


  To see how infants aged between 9 and 18 months behaved under conditions of mild stress and also novelty
• Insecure-avoidant

  
  

  Insecure-avoidant attachment is when an infant shows little to no distress when separated from their caregiver and avoids contact upon reunion. They may appear indifferent to the caregiver’s presence and may have developed self-soothing strategies.
• Insecure-resistant

  
  

  when an infant is highly distressed when separated from their caregiver and has difficulty being comforted upon reunion. They may cling to the caregiver but also show ambivalence towards their comfort.
• Secure attachment

  
  

  Secure attachment is when an infant is comfortable exploring their environment, using their caregiver as a secure base to return to. They may show distress when separated from their caregiver but can be easily comforted when reunited.
• ainsworth's strange situation procedure:

  -The research room was a 9×9 foot space marked into 16 squares to record the infant’s movements.

  
  

  -Their were 8 episodes, each of which highlighted certain behaviours. e.g. caregiver leaves and stranger enters

  
  

  
  

  -Data was collected by observers using a video recorder or a one way mirror. They recorded what the child was doing every 15 seconds using behaviour categories and scoring the intensity on a scale of 1-7.
• strange situation findings:

  One similarity found was that exploratory behaviours declined in all infants from episode 2 onwards, whereas the amount of crying increased.

  
  

  -From the differences, Ainsworth established 3 main patterns of behaviour the infants displayed : insecure avoidant, secure attachment, insecure resistant
• stage 1: baby encouraged to explore

  testing exploration and secure base
• stage 2: stranger comes in, talks to caregiver and approaches the baby

  testing stranger anxiety
• stage 3: caregiver leaves baby and stranger

  testing separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
• stage 4: caregiver returns and stranger leaves

  testing reunion behaviour and exploration
• stage 5: caregiver leaves baby alone

  testing separation anxiety
• stage 6: stranger returns

  testing stranger anxiety
• stranger 7: caregiver returns and reunited with baby


  testing reunion behaviour
• 5 behaviours used to judge attachment:

  1. proximity seeking
  2. exploration and secure base behaviour
  3. separation anxiety
  4. stranger anxiety
  5. response to reunion
• abut 60-75% of British babies are classified as having secure attachment