Ainsworth - A Strange Situation

Ainsworth - A Strange Situation

Aim: To produce a method of assessing quality of attachment by placing infant in a situation of mild stress (encouraging seeking comfort behaviour) and of novelty (encouraging exploration behaviour).These two behaviours are indicators of quality of attachment. 

Procedure: 

• 100 middle-class American infants and mothers took part. 
• A method of controlled obersation was used. This meant observing infants with their mothers in a set of predetermined activites. All sessions, exculding the first one, took three minutes. 
  • Mother and child are in the room together in room, child can play with the toys left in the room.
  • Stranger enters the room and attempts to interact with the child.
  • Mother leaves the room, stranger still interacting with the child.
  • Mother returns to the room, stranger leaves.
  • Mother leaves the room again, child left on their own.
  • Stranger returns and attempts again to interact with the child. 
  • Mother returns, stranger leaves again. 

• Observers record the behaviour of bother mother and child, in particular the following:
  • Seperation anxiety: the unease the infant shows when the caregiver leaves.
  • Infant's willingness to explore.
  • Stranger anxiety: infant's response to presence of…