Ainsworth's 'Strange Situation'

Ainsworth's 'Strange Situation'

1. Aim: record nature and types of attachment

   • Procedure: structured observation, caregiver, infant and stranger
     • reaction to mother leaving
       • infants willingness to explore
         • stranger anxiety
           • reunion behaviour
     • 25 mins, 8 episodes lasting 3 mins
     • Child became distressed, mother retuned earlier
   • Results: 3 types of attachment
     • secure 65%
       • Free exploration, mother as secure base, distress shown when she leaves, warm greeting, clear preference
         • Conclusion: from SS and interviews from mother, crucial feature of attachment is mothers sensitivity- sensitivity hypothesis
           • Sensitive mother sees things from baby's pov
             • Insensitive mother- acts in terms of her own wishes
     • Insecure avoidant 23%
       • Unconcern, no stranger anxiety, similar treatment
     • Insecure resistant 12%
       • no exploration, insecure, undecided, clinging/hitting mother, resists stranger

2. Criticisms of Ainsworth's study

   • replicable
     • Useful to remedy attachment
       • Validity from Sroufe et al and Waters, secure ratings affect later life
         • Artificiality
           • Day care now: children used to separations
             • Ethics: harm and distress
               • Type D attachment by Main and Cassidy= insecure disorganised, no set of behaviour patterns shown by infant, mixture of resistant and avoidance
                 • Main and Weston found the parent they were with determines response
               • Culture Bound
                 • Innate differences
                   • Cultural differences

3. Grossman and Grossman

   • Extent SS can be used in a different cultural context
   • Longitudinal study
     • Natural observation
       • 49 'normal' German families
   • More insecurely attached than securely
     • Child rearing practices are different
       • Affects adult life

4. Van Ijzendoorn & Krooenberg

   • compared results of 32 studies
     • 2000 infants in SS
       • variation within cultures is 1 1/2x greater than between cultures
         • Variation between groups within countries- invalid
           • Ethnocentric- based on American norms
             • Imposed etic
         • Israeli- Kibbutz, used to being separated from mother not used to strangers
       • Cultural values
   • secure is most common, insecure least