Strange situation

• Ainsworth found that infants who were securely attached to their mother would cry when she left the room but quickly settled down once they saw her again
• An example of Insecure-resistant attachment is where an infant becomes distressed at separation from their caregiver and shows signs of anger towards them on reunion
• Insecure-avoidant attachment is where an infant ignores or avoids contact with their caregiver upon reunion. This can be seen as a defence mechanism against anxiety
• The strange situation was criticised by some psychologists because it only tested children aged between 9 months and 2 years old so may not apply to older children
• What is the first episode?

  Parent and infant play
• What is the second episode and the behaviour assessed?

  Parent sits while infant plays - use of parent as secure base
• What is the third episode and the behaviour assessed?

  Stranger enters and talks to parent - stranger anxiety
• What is the fourth episode and the behaviour assessed?

  Parent leaves, infant plays, stranger offers comfort if needed - separation anxiety
• What is the fifth episode and the behaviour assessed?

  parent returns, greets infant, offers comfort if needed, stranger leaves - reunion behaviour
• What is the sixth episode and the behaviour assessed?

  parent leaves, infant alone - separation anxiety
• What is the seventh episode and the behaviour assessed?

  stranger enters and offers comfort - stranger anxiety
• What is the eighth episode and the behaviour assessed?

  parent returns, greets infant, offers comfort - reunion behaviour
• Strange situation - procedure

  the room is a 9x9 square foot space and the procedure consists of 8 episodes. data is typically gathered by a group of observers using a video recorder or a one way mirror. they may record what the infant is doing every 15 seconds, using the following behavioural categories 1) proximity and contact-seeking 2) contact-maintaining 3) proximity and interaction-avoiding 4)contact and interaction-resisting 5) search behaviours.
• Strange situation - findings

  Data was combined from several studies to create 106 middle class infants observed. similarities and differences were observed which resulted in the finding of the 3 types of attachment. 1)secure attachment - type B 2)insecure-avoidant - type A 3)insecure-resistant - type C
• explain a secure attachment (type B)

  -high willingness to explore -moderate stranger anxiety -some separation anxiety which is easy to soothe -enthusiastic when reunited with care giver -66% of infants
• explain an insecure avoidant attachment (type A)

  -high willingness to explore -low stranger anxiety -little separation anxiety -avoids contact with are giver when reunited -22% of infants
• explain an insecure resistant attachment (type C)

  
  

  -low willingness to explore -high stranger anxiety -distressed when separated from care giver -seeks and rejects contact with care giver when reunited -12% of infants
• criticism - 4th attachment type

  Subsequent research suggested that Ainsworth and colleagues might have overlooked a fourth attachment style. Main and Solomon, after reviewing more than 200 Strange Situation studies, introduced the insecure-disorganized (Type D) attachment, marked by inconsistent social behaviors. This was reinforced by van IJzendoorn and colleagues through a meta-analysis of almost 80 studies, which identified the prevalence of attachment styles as follows: 62% secure, 15% insecure-avoidant, 9% insecure-resistant, and 15% insecure-disorganized.
• criticism - cross cultural variations


  cultural differences in different countries mean children respond differently in the strange situation. caregivers behave differently in every culture. therefore, the results cannot be generalised to the whole population and lacks external validity.
• criticism - low internal validity

  some researchers question whether the strange situation is measuring the attachment type of a child or the quality of one relationship. Main and Weston found children behave differently depending on which parent is present in the study.
• strength - real world application

  different types of interventions can be created based on our knowledge of different attachment types. the 'circle of security' project teaches care givers to better see signals of distress in their infants and allows them to understand what it feels like to be anxious.
• strength - high reliability

  Ainsworth et al measured reliability and found an almost perfect agreement (.94) when rating exploratory behaviour. therefore, the strange situation can be seen as reliable.