The Strange Situation

The Strange Situation

1. The Ainsworth and Bell (1970) observational study of individual differences in attachment is described below.

2. The security of attachment in one- to two-year-olds was investigated by Ainsworth and Bell (1970) in the 'strange situation' study, in order to determine the nature of attachment behaviors and styles of attachment.

3. Ainsworth (1970) developed an experimental procedure in order to observe the variety of attachment forms exhibited between mothers and infants.

4. The experiment is set up in a small room with one way glass so the behavior of the infant can be observed. Infants were aged between 12 and 18 months. The sample comprised about 100 middle class American families.

5. Securely attached children comprised the majority of the sample in Ainsworth’s (1970) study. Such children feel confident that the attachment figure will be available to meet their needs. They use the attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment and seek the attachment figure in times of distress (Main, & Cassidy, 1988).

6. Insecure avoidant children do not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment. They are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally (Behrens, Hesse, & Main, 2007).

7. The third attachment style identified by Ainsworth (1970) was insecure ambivalent (also called insecure resistant). Here children adopt an ambivalent behavioral style towards the attachment figure. The child will commonly exhibit clingy and dependent behavior, but will be rejecting of the attachment figure when they engage in interaction.

8. Ainsworth & Bell suggested that behavior in the strange situation classification was determined by the behavior of the primary carer (in this case the mother).

9. The strange situation classification has been found to have good reliability. This means that it achieves consistent results. For example, a study conducted in Germany found 78% of the children were classified in the same way at ages 1 and 6 years (Wartner, et al. 1994).

10. Lamb et al. (1985) have criticized it for being highly artificial

11. Culturally Subjective

12. Cultural Variations

    • Mary Ainsworth (1970) carried out most of her research in the USA but child rearing practices vary considerably from place to place in terms of environment, traditions and beliefs about children.
    • Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg - It was found that secure attachment was the most common type of attachment in all cultures. The lowest percentage of secure attachments was shown in China, and the highest in Great Britain. The overall consistency in secure attachment types leads to the conclusion that there may be universal (innate) characteristics that underpin infant and caregiver interactions. The German study highlights a high percentage of avoidant behavior, typical of independent children.