Attachment: The Strange Situation
- Created by: mollytheflop
- Created on: 06-04-17 11:46
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- Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation
- Definition of attatchment
- An emotional bond between a child and a caregiver, which is reciprocal (two-way) and long lasting
- Background
- Until the 1960's/70's, there was an assumption that if an infants physical needs were well looked after, the would grow up to be fine.
- Physical needs include:
- Food
- Warmth
- Being clean and dry
- Mary Ainsworth believed that emotional needs were just as important as physical needs
- Emotional needs include:
- Physical contact (cuddles)
- Social interaction
- Being aware that someone will respond to them
- Ainsworth conducted observational work in Africa and began to develop the theory that the quality of the caregiver-infant relationship could shape the child's personality for the rest of their life
- Emotional needs include:
- Physical needs include:
- Until the 1960's/70's, there was an assumption that if an infants physical needs were well looked after, the would grow up to be fine.
- Aim
- To see if caregiver sensitivity affects the type and quality of attatchment
- Caregiver sensitivity: how good a parent is at reading their child's signals
- To see if caregiver sensitivity affects the type and quality of attatchment
- Procedure
- 100 child-mother pairs from Baltimore, USA
- Part A
- Natural observations
- Took place during the first year of the infants lives
- Ainsworth visited the pairs at home every 3/4 months and observed them in their natural environment
- Assessed the quality of their parenting
- Is the parent sensitive to their child's needs?
- Is the parent consistent in how they respond to their child's needs?
- Assessed the quality of their parenting
- Natural observations
- Part B
- When the child was 1 year old, the pair were invited to take part in a controlled observation
- This part of the observation tested 4 of the infants behaviours
- Willingness to explore
- Separation anxiety
- Stranger anxiety
- Reunion behaviour
- This part of the observation tested 4 of the infants behaviours
- Consisted of 8 episodes:
- 1) The parent and infant are introduced to the room.
- 2) The caregiver sits and watches the child play
- 3) The stranger enters and interacts with the infant
- 4) First separation - the child and stranger are left alone. The stranger tries to interact with the infant
- 5) First reunion - the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
- 6) Second separation - the parent leaves and the infant is left alone
- 7) The stranger returns and tries to interact with the child
- 8) Second reunion - the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
- When the child was 1 year old, the pair were invited to take part in a controlled observation
- Findings
- Attachments followed a pattern where infants could be classified as one of three attachment types
- Secure
- 70% of pairs
- Observed behaviour included:
- Willing to explore with parent as a base
- Some stranger anxiety
- Easily comforted on reunion
- Moderate separation anxiety
- Linked to sensitive and consistent caregiving
- Insecure avoidant
- 20% of pairs
- Observed behaviour included:
- Willing to explore
- Very little stranger anxiety
- Very little separation anxiety
- Little emotional response on reunion
- Linked to unresponsive caregiving. The child has learnt not to expect much from their caregiver
- Insecure resistant
- 10% of pairs
- Observed behaviour included:
- Not willing to explore
- Extreme separation anxiety
- Extreme stranger anxiety
- Remains distressed on reunion
- Linked to inconsistent or unpredictable caregiving
- Secure
- Attachments followed a pattern where infants could be classified as one of three attachment types
- AO3 Evaluation
- Ethics
- Protection from harm
- Deliberately putting a child under stress
- Fully informed consent
- Consent comes from the parent, not the child
- Protection from harm
- Internal validity
- Socially desirable behaviour
- Ainsworth claimed that attachment type was permanent, however Waters' research found that only 72% of people keep the same attachment type into adeulthood
- Population Validity
- Based on American norms
- Ethnocentric
- Based on American norms
- Reliability
- Main and Solomon identified a 4th attachment type
- Insecure disorganised
- Main and Solomon identified a 4th attachment type
- Ethics
- Definition of attatchment
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