Ainsworth's Strange Situation

• ainsworth developed the strange situation as a method to assess the quality of a child's attachment to a caregiver.
• it is a controlled observation procedure in a lab (a controlled environment) with a two-way mirror through which psychologists can observe an infant's behaviour.
• what are the five categories used to judge attachment quality?

  1. proximity seeking: well-attached infants stay close to caregiver
  2. exploration and secure-base behaviour: good attachment makes a child confident to explore, using the caregiver as point of safety
  3. stranger anxiety: displayed by well-attached infants
  4. separation anxiety: displayed by well-attached infants
  5. response to reunion with the caregiver after separation for a short period of time well-attached infants are enthusiastic.
• how long did each episode last?

  three minutes.
• what were the three types of attachment Ainsworth identified?

  secure attachment, insecure-avoidant attachment and insecure-resistance attachment.
• findings & conclusions: secure attachment

  • 60-75% of British toddlers
  • could happy to explore but seeks proximity with caregiver (secure base)
  • shows moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
  • requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion
• findings & conclusions: insecure-avoidant attachment

  • 20-25% of British toddlers
  • child explores freely but doesn't seek proximity (no secure base)
  • shows little/no separation and stranger anxiety
  • doesn't require comfort at the reunion stage
• findings & conclusions: insecure-resistant attachment

  • 3% of British toddlers
  • child explores less and seeks greater proximity
  • shows considerate stranger and separation anxiety
  • resists comfort when reunited with caregiver.
• strength: good inter-rater reliability

  different observers watching the same children generally agree on attachment type. bick et al. found 94% agreement in one team. this may be because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe. so we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the strange situation doesn't just depend on who is observing them.
• limitation: may be a culture-bound test

  the test might not have the same meaning in countries outside Western Europe and the USA. cultural differences in children's experiences mean they respond differently. also caregivers from different cultures behave differently. takahashi notes that Japanese mothers are rarely separated from infants, thus the infants show high levels of separation anxiety.
• limitation: there may be other attachment types

  ainsworth identified three attachment types: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant. main and Solomon pointed out that some children display atypical attachment that do not fit these types. this is disorganised attachment- a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours. this challenges Ainsworth's initial notion of attachment types and could question whether the strange situation is a useful method to identify these types.
• limitation: temperament may be a confounding variable

  Ainsworth assumed that the main influence on separation and stranger anxiety was the quality of the attachment. but kagan suggests that temperament (the child's genetically influenced personality) is a more important influence on behaviour in the strange situation. this challenges the validity of the strange situation because its intention is to measure the quality of attachment, not the temperament of the child (i.e. a confounding variable)