Mary Ainsworth (1970's)

"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:

1. The mother and child play in the lab. 
2. A stranger enters the room - Stranger Anxiety is measured by researcher
3. Mother leaves - Separation Anxiety is measured by the researcher
4. 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

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.