"The Strange Situation"
Aim:
To find the quality of attachment between mother and child
Procedure:
106 children in America with their mothers will enter an artifical playroom situation. A researcher is behind a ONE WAY MIRROR, recording reactions from the child. 8 Episodes are then carried out:
- The mother and child play in the lab.
- A stranger enters the room - Stranger Anxiety is measured by researcher
- Mother leaves - Separation Anxiety is measured by the researcher
- Mother returns - Reunion Behaviour is measured by the researcher
*These stages then repeat
Findings:
66% - TYPE B - Secure Attachment
Mum presence - content
Absence - distressed
Return - greets
Stranger comfort - some
Mum - sensitive
22% - TYPE A - Anxious Avoidant Attachement
Mum presence - not bothered
Absence - not bothered
Return - avoids very strongly
Stranger comfort - avoid strongly
Mum - ignores child
12% - TYPE C - Anxious Resistant Attachment
Mum presence - unsure
Absence - intense distress
Return - rejects
Stranger comfort - resists
Mum - behaves ambivalently
Conclusion:
Children's behaviour varies
Attachment is influenced by mum's emotional responsiveness
Type B - Mum is sensitive to child
Type A - Mum ignores the child ; child learnt rejection from mum
Type C - Mum is ambivalent to child ; child learns inconsistant love
Critisisms:
Ethological Validity is low - artifical situation
Unethical to place a child in distress
Gender Bias - assuming the woman is the main attachment figure
Small sample size of 106
Cultural Bias - held in America
- Vaughn et al. (1980) - change in family circumstances affect children's behaviour
- Larsern and Deiner (1987) - Biological differences between children may mean some infants have a difficult temperament so attachments could be problematic
- Main and Solomon (1990) - repeated the experiment and found
Type D - Disorganised - Abused children
Type D - Disorganised - Abused children
Inconsistant behaviour, confusion, indecisiveness. Children act as the attachment figure and enviornment is a soure of fear.
Sterotyped abused behaviours such as freezing and rocking for self comfort.