What was the conclusion of the Strange Situation study?
There appears to be an association between the mother's behaviour and the child's attachment type. Negative points of the Strange Situation.
What did the Strange Situation experiment prove?
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).
Why is the Strange Situation important?
It was here that she developed her famous “Strange Situation” assessment, in which a researcher observes a child's reactions when a mother briefly leaves her child alone in an unfamiliar room. The way the child behaves during the separation and upon
the mother's return
can reveal important information about attachment.
What type of research is the Strange Situation?
Ainsworth's Strange Situation (1970) used
structured observational research to assess & measure the quality of attachment
. It has 8 pre-determined stages, including the mother leaving the child, for a short while, to play with available toys in the presence of a stranger & alone and the mother returning to the child.
What did other researchers hoped to do with the Strange Situation in their research?
In using the Strange Situation, researchers hope that
their observations will provide information about the infant's motivation to be near the caregiver
and the degree to which the caregiver's presence provides the infant with security and confidence.
Who developed the Strange Situation?
The
American-Canadian psychologist Mary Ainsworth
(1913-1999) developed the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to measure mother-child attachment and attachment theorists have used it ever since. When Ainsworth published the first results of the SSP in 1969, it seemed a completely novel and unique instrument.
Why is the Strange Situation culturally biased?
The Strange Situation was created and tested in the USA, which means that it may be culturally biased (ethnocentric), as
it will reflect the norms and values of American culture
. For example, the belief that attachment is related to anxiety on separation. This may not be the case in other cultures, e.g. Japan.
How did the Strange Situation work?
In this procedure of the Strange Situation the child is observed playing for 21 minutes while caregivers and strangers enter and leave the room, recreating the flow of the familiar and unfamiliar presence in most children's lives. The situation varies in stressfulness and the child's responses are observed.
What does insecure attachment look like?
Signs of disorganized attachment include:
Depression and anxiety
.
Frequent outbursts and erratic behaviors
(which stems from the inability to clearly see and understand the world around them or properly process the behavior of others or relationships) Poor self-image and self-hatred.
What are the 3 attachment styles?
Based on these observations, Ainsworth concluded that there were three major styles of attachment:
secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment
.
What does strange situation measures?
The original method, developed by the influential psychologist Mary Ainsworth, is the laboratory procedure called the “Strange Situation” (Ainsworth et al 1978). Typically, the Strange Situation
tests how babies or young children respond to the temporary absence of their mothers.
What are the 4 types of attachment?
Bowlby identified four types of attachment styles:
secure, anxious-ambivalent, disorganised and avoidant
.
What are some effects of depriving attachment?
Children with poor attachments tend to display poor socioemotional affects, such as,
poor social, coping, and problem solving skills, tantrums, clingy, withdrawn, or aggressive behaviors
, etc. These negative effects, often impacts the child throughout their developmental years.
What is a Strange Situation in psychology?
an experimental technique used to assess quality of attachment in infants and young children
(up to the age of 2). The procedure subjects the child to increasing amounts of stress induced by a strange setting, the entrance of an unfamiliar person, and two brief separations from the parent.
What is disorganized attachment in adults?
Adults with a disorganized attachment style
lack a coherent approach towards relationships
. On the one hand, they want to belong. They want to love and be loved. While on the other hand, they are afraid to let anyone in. They have a strong fear that the people who are closest to them will hurt them.
What is resistant attachment?
Resistant/ambivalent attachment
Resistant attachment relationships are
characterized by exaggerated expressions of attachment needs
. In the presence of their caregiver these infants are reluctant to explore their environment and preoccupied with getting the attention of their caregiver.
