1. Hannah Butler hbutler@stvincent.ac.uk
Access Psychology
Hannah Butler

2. Recap…… What is an observation?
What type of research would an observation be the chosen research method?
Strengths of observations
Weaknesses of observations

3. What is an observation?
Observational studies are investigations where the researcher observes a situation and records what happens but does not manipulate an independent variable.

4. When to use an observation?
Observation deals with actions and behaviour. If you want to find out what people do, you should observe them.
If you want to find out what they think (e.g., attitudes, beliefs, expectations, or knowledge), you should ask them directly. Although there are exceptions, observation is generally the best method for studying natural behavior, while interviews and questionnaires are more appropriate for exploring opinions and beliefs.

5. Strengths of observations

6. Weaknesses of observations

7. What observation is this?
The observer is a member of the group being observed, and takes part in the activities of the group whilst simultaneously observing them.
Participant

8. The researcher does not interfere with the situation
The researcher does not interfere with the situation. They let things happen naturally.
Naturalistic

9. Fully planned in advance with a coding system and predetermined sections.
Structured

10. The observer is watching a situation/group of people without their knowledge.
Covert

11. The situation is controlled by the researcher, and might even be conducted in a laboratory.

12. The observer isn't a member of the group and simply records behaviour without taking part.
Non-Participant

13. The people being observed know they are taking part in the research.
Overt

14. Mary Ainsworth-The strange situation assessment
It’s easy enough to know when you are attached to someone because you know how you feel when you are apart from that person, and, being an adult, you can put your feelings into words and describe how it feels.
However, most attachment research is carried out using infants and young children, so psychologists have to devise subtle ways of researching attachment styles, usually involving the observational method.
Psychologist Mary Ainsworth ( ) provided one of the most famous body of research offering explanations of individual differences in attachment.

15. Mary Ainsworth (1970) was most famous for her work using the ‘Strange Situation’.
This is an observational technique that places an infant in different situations in order to research the quality of attachment to their caregiver.
Mary Ainsworth

16. Types of Attachment - The Strange Situation
controlled observation
around 100 middle-class infants and their mothers were observed using a video camera in a purpose built laboratory playroom to assess:
exploration behaviour
separation anxiety
reunion behaviour
stranger anxiety

17. Strange situation procedure
The security of attachment in one- to two-year- olds was investigated using the 'strange situation' procedure, in order to determine the nature of attachment behaviours and styles of attachment.
Ainsworth developed an experimental procedure in order to observe the variety of attachment forms exhibited between mothers and infants.
The experiment is set up in a small room with one way glass so the behaviour of the infant can be observed covertly.
Infants were aged between 12 and 18 months.
The sample comprised about 100 middle class American families.

18. The mother and infant go into a room.

19. The mother sits, and the infant is placed on the floor and is free to explore.

20. The stranger enters the room and tries to engage with the infant through play and talk.

21. My mummy’s gone! Who’s that stranger?
The mother leaves the room. Now the infant is alone with the stranger. The stranger tries to comfort the infant if they get upset, and tries to play with them.
My mummy’s gone! Who’s that stranger?

22. The mother returns to the room and the stranger leaves.

23. The mother leaves the room and the infant is alone.

24. Instead of the mother returning to the room, the stranger returns and tries to comfort and play with the infant.
My mummy’s gone! Here she comes Ahhhh! It’s not… oh no… where is my mummy?

25. The mother re-enters the room and the stranger leaves.

26. Scoring:
Strange Situation classifications (i.e. attachment styles) are based primarily on 4 interaction behaviours directed toward the mother in the two reunion episodes
1)Proximity and contacting seeking
2)Contact maintaining
3)Avoidance of proximity and contact
4)Resistance to contact and comforting
The observer notes down the behaviour displayed during 15 second intervals and scores the behaviour for intensity on a scale of 1 to 7.

28. Other behaviours observed included:
Exploratory Behaviours e.g. moving around room, playing with toys, looking around room.
Search Behaviours e.g. following mother to door, banging on door, orienting to the door, looking at door, going to mother’s empty chair, looking at mother’s empty chair.
Affect Displays negative, e.g. crying, smiling.

29. Results Ainsworth (1970) identified three main attachment styles
secure (type B)
insecure avoidant (type A)
insecure ambivalent (type C).
Ainsworth concluded that these attachment styles were the result of early interactions with the mother.

30. Attachment Types Secure Insecure- resistant Insecure- avoidant
‘I trust you’
‘I don’t trust you’
‘I don’t care!’

31. 22% 12% 66% Ainsworth and Bell (1970) % Insecure- avoidant
Insecure- resistant
Secure

32. Secure attachment Distressed when mother leaves. Separation Anxiety
Stranger Anxiety
Avoidant of stranger when alone but friendly when mother present.
Reunion behavior
Positive and happy when mother returns.
Other
Will use the mother as a safe base to explore their environment.

33. Insecure ambivalent Separation Anxiety
Infant shows signs of intense distress when mother leaves.
Stranger Anxiety
Infant avoids the stranger - shows fear of stranger.
Reunion behaviour
Child approaches mother but resists contact, may even push her away.
Other
Infant cries more and explores less than the other 2 types.

34. Insecure avoidant Separation Anxiety
Infant shows no sign of distress when mother leaves.
Stranger Anxiety
Infant is okay with the stranger and plays normally when stranger is present.
Reunion behavior
Infant shows little interest when mother returns.
Other .
Mother and stranger are able to comfort the infant equally well

35. Type B-Secure attachment
Securely attached children comprised the majority of the sample in Ainsworth’s (1971, 1978) studies.
Such children feel confident that the attachment figure will be available to meet their needs. They use the attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment and seek the attachment figure in times of distress
Securely attached infants are easily soothed by the attachment figure when upset. Infants develop a secure attachment when the caregiver is sensitive to their signals, and responds appropriately to their needs.
According to Bowlby (1980) an individual who has experienced a secure attachment 'is likely to possess a representational model of attachment figures(s) as being available, responsive, and helpful'

36. Type A-Insecure avoidant
Insecure avoidant children do not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment.
They are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally .
They do not seek contract with the attachment figure when distressed.
Such children are likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive and rejecting of their needs.
The attachment figure may withdraw from helping during difficult tasks and is often unavailable during times of emotional distress.

37. Type C-insecure ambivalent
The third attachment style identified by Ainsworth was insecure ambivalent (also called insecure resistant).
Here children adopt an ambivalent behavioural style towards the attachment figure.
The child will commonly exhibit clingy and dependent behaviour, but will be rejecting of the attachment figure when they engage in interaction.
The child fails to develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure.
Accordingly they exhibit difficulty moving away from the attachment figure to explore novel surroundings.
When distressed they are difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure.
This behaviour results from an inconsistent level of response to their needs from the primary caregiver.

38. Conclusion
Ainsworth suggested that behaviour in the strange situation classification was determined by the behaviour of the primary carer (in this case the mother).
For example, securely attached infant are associated with sensitive & responsive primary care.
Insecure ambivalent attached infants are associated with inconsistent primary care. Sometimes the child’s needs and met and sometime they are ignored by the mother / father.
Insecure avoidant infants are associated with unresponsive primary care. The child comes to believe that communication of needs has no influence on the mother / father.
Ainsworth’s findings provided the first empirical evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory..

39. For example, securely attached children develop a positive working model of themselves and have mental representations of others as being helpful while viewing themselves as worthy of respect
Avoidant children think themselves unworthy and unacceptable, caused by a rejecting primary caregiver
Ambivalent children have negative self image and exaggerate their emotional responses as a way to gain attention
Accordingly, insecure attachment styles are associated with an increased risk of social and emotional behavioural problems via the internal working model.

40. Evaluation time

41. Strengths and weaknesses
What do you think?

42. S: 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.
W: Although, the Strange Situation is the most widely used method for assessing infant attachment to a caregiver, it has been criticized for being highly artificial and therefore lacking ecological validity.
The child is placed in a strange and artificial environment, and the procedure of the mother and stranger entering and leaving the room follows a predetermined script.

43. W:Mary Ainsworth's conclusion that the strange situation can be used to identify the child's type of attachment has been criticized on the grounds that it identifies only the type of attachment to the mother.
The child may have a different type of attachment to the father or grandmother, for example.
This means that it lacks validity, as it is not measuring a general attachment style, but instead an attachment style specific to the mother.

44. W: Some research has shown that the same child may show different attachment behaviours on different occasions.
Children's attachments may change, perhaps because of changes in the child's circumstances, so a securely attached child may appear insecurely attached if the mother becomes ill or the family circumstances change.

45. W: The strange situation has also been criticized on ethical grounds
W: The strange situation has also been criticized on ethical grounds. Because the child is put under stress (separation and stranger anxiety), the study has broken the ethical guideline protection of participants.
However, in its defence the separation episodes were curtailed prematurely if the child became too stressed.
W: Finally, the studies sample is biased - comprising 100 middle class American families. Therefore, it is difficult to generalize the findings outside of America and to working class families.

46. Summarise each attachment type
Using notes and previous knowledge, summarise the key features of each attachment type

47. Group project Each group will be given an attachment type:
Secure attachment
Insecure ambivalent attachment
Insecure avoidance attachment.
Research your given attachment type and prepare a ten minute group presentation.
Your presentation must include the following:

48. What behaviour did the observed infant display that led to them being characterised?
Characteristics attributed to that specific attachment type.
How did the specific attached type occur ie, what sort of parenting
How do these specific behaviours relate to child and adulthood