AINSWORTH's STRANGE SITUATION
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SIGNS OF A GOOD ATTACHMENT (P.R.E.S.S):
Proximity Seeking:
- infant stays fairly close to caregiver
Exploration and Secure-Base Behaviour:
- child feels confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base
Stranger Anxiety:
- anxiety when a stranger approaches
Separation Anxiety:
- protests at separation from the caregiver
Response to Reunion:
- how the child responds to the caregiver after a short separation in controlled conditions
Ainsworth found there were distinct patterns in the way that infants behaved. She found 3 main types of attachment....
(1) SECURE ATTACHMENT (Type B - 66%):
- Children will happily explore but regularly go back to their caregiver
(proximity seeking and secure base behaviour)
- Moderate separation distress and stranger anxiety
- Require and accept comfort from the caregiver in reunion stage
(2) Insecure-Avoidant Attachment (Type A - 22%):
- Children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
- Little/no reaction when caregiver leaves & little effort to make contact when caregiver returns
- Little stranger anxiety & do not require comfort in reunion stage
(3) Insecure-Resistant Attachment (Type C - 12%):
- Children seek greater proximity than others so explore less
- They show huge stranger & separation distress
- They resist comfort when reunited with caregiver
Evaluation:
Findings:
Support for validity:
- Attachment type as defined by the Strange Situation is strongly predictive of later development (see examples - Kokkinos, 2007; Ward et al, 2006)
- These attachment types are therefore valid as there are able to explain later outcomes
Good reliability:
- Strange Situation shows good inter-rater reliability as different observers watching the same children generally agreed on which attachment type they were
- May be because of controlled conditions and behaviour categories that are easy to observe
- Bick et al (2012)....inter-rater reliability in Strange Situation was 94%
Test may be culture-bound:
- This is because children in different cultures may respond in different ways
- Also, caregivers in different cultures may behave differently
- Example...Takahashi (1990)
What does Strange Situation measure?:
- The Strange Situation measures a child's responses to the anxiety of being in an unfamiliar environment but we don't know whether it is definitely attachment that is affecting the anxiety
- Kagan (1982) argues maybe it is actually temperament that affects the anxiety
At least one more attachment type:
- Main and Soloman (1986)...a minority of children display atypical attachments that are not Ainsworth's A, B or C types. This atypical attachment is known as disorganised attachment (Type D). disorganised children display an odd mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours
Summary of Ainsworth's Findings:
AINSWORTH's STRANGE SITUATION
Background:
Behaviours used to judge attachments:
- Ainsworth worked with Bowlby on the development of attachment theory
- Her particular contribution was to produce a method, still used today, to assess the strength of attachment between an infant and others
- This method is called the 'Strange Situation'
The Strange Situation (1969):
7 Episodes of the Procedure (3 mins each):
Aim:
To be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child's attachment to a caregiver