Ainsworth’s study

• Ainsworth aimed to test the quality of attachments based on individual differences between mother and infant.
• Ainsworth studied 106 middle class US infants aged 9 - 18 months
• Ainsworth used 8 “episodes” combining a stranger, the infant and their mother in a 9 x 9 room.

  This was a controlled observation, observers looked through a one way mirror.
• Ainsworths observations used a 1-7 scale based on the severity of:

  Seperation anxiety

  reunion behaviour

  stranger anxiety

  secure base
• Ainsworth developed three attachment styles between mother and infant:

  1. Secure - 70 %
  2. Insecure avoidant - 15 %
  3. Insecure resistant - 15 %
• Secure attachment - 70 % of ppts

  Caregiver responds quickly to the child’s needs.

  The child explored and returned regularly - secure base

  The child had moderate separation and stranger anxiety

  The child accepts comfort on reunion
• Insecure avoidant attachment - 15 % of ppts

  The caregiver is unresponsive, uncaring and dismissive.

  The child explores freely without proximity or secure base behaviour

  The child has low separation and stranger anxiety

  The child does not need comfort on reunion

  The child can be comforted by a stranger
• Insecure resistant attachment - 15% of ppts

  The caregiver was inconsistent and unpredictable

  The child explores less and seeks proximity

  The child has high stranger and separation anxiety

  The child resists comfort on reunion

  The child accepts comfort from strangers and is uneasy around caregiver
• AO3. Ainsworth’s research was ethnocentric. The research was based in America, and she used white, middleclass ppts. She also suggested that “ secure ” is a universally ideal attachment type, which isn’t correct because cultural variations have found large differences
• Secure attachment - moderate separation and stranger anxiety
• Insecure avoidant attachment - low separation and stranger anxiety
• Insecure resistant - high stranger and separation anxiety
• AO3. Ainsworth‘s conclusions are reductionist explanations of attachment Types. Main and Soloman ( 1986 ) analysed several strange situation videotapes and suggest that there is a fourth type. Some infants showed inconsistent behaviour, which they termed " insecure disorganised ". Van Ijzendoorn also found that 15 % of infants did have this attachment type This shows that human behaviour may not fit into groups, unlike what Ainsworth suggests.
• AO3. Ainsworths methodology is strong. The observation is controlled, with clear behaviour categories. This means that the results are highly reliable, and Ainsworths methodology can be replicated. Also, the study was recorded, meaning it can be viewed by other psychologists at a later date, increasing inter rater reliability.
• AO3. Ainsworths strange situation lacks ecological validity. The observation was conducted in an artificial setting, which was unfamiliar to both the parents and the infants. This means that the children may have acted differently to how they would act in a more familiar environment, such as home. This means we don't know if the behaviours displayed such as separation anxiety would be the same as usual. This lowers validity of the findings.