1. Attachment

2. What are the key studies we have looked at in attachment?
Lorenz (1935)
Harlow (1959)

3. When we explain attachment what theories can we use?
Infant form attachments with one figure… the mother
Classical conditioning
Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

4. We are going to be looking at …
In today’s lesson
We are going to be looking at …
The type of attachments infants form with their mothers

5. Does everyone form attachments exactly the same?
YES
Some have good attachments, others have poorer attachments
Psychologist Mary Ainsworth conducted research which offered an explanation to the individual differences in attachment No

6. Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’(1978)
The situation;
Unfamiliar testing room = ‘strange’
Filled with toys
Researchers observed from behind a one way glass looking into this room
This allows behaviours of the infant to be observed covertly
Unknown to the infant

7. Strange Situation; Participants
106 infants observed in total
All aged between 9 and 18 months
All from middle class families
Each Strange Situation involved
An infant
The infants mother
A stranger

8. Strange Situation; Procedure
Involved eight episodes, each lasting three minutes

9. Stage 1
Stage 2
The observer, mother and infant enter the room
Observer leaves
Mother is passive while infant explores room
They both get used to the room before the observation begins
Why is this important?

10. Stage 3
A stranger enters the room, joining the mother and infant The mother leaves the room

11. Stage 4
The stranger interacts with the infant
Stage 5
The mother returns to the room
The stranger leaves the room
The reunion behaviour of infant and mother is recorded

12. Stage 6
Stage 7
The stranger returns and attempts to comfort the infant
The infant displays separation anxiety
The mother then leaves the room
The infant is alone
The infants behaviour is recorded = separation protest

13. Stage 8
The mother re-enters the room
The stranger leaves the room
The reunion behaviour between the infant and mother is recorded

14. Ainsworth noted attachment styles based on interaction behaviours directed to mother
Proximity and contact seeking behaviours (Crying)
Contact maintaining behaviours (Cuddling, attention)
Proximity and interaction-avoiding behaviours (Not seeking to be close to mother – play by themselves)
Contact – and interaction-resisting (Protest against cuddling)
Search behaviours (Mother role safe base)

15. Strange Situation findings
Infants explored playroom and toys more when the mother alone was present
This suggests;
Stranger anxiety
Separation anxiety
Secure based

16. Strange Situation findings
Reunion behaviours reflected three types of attachment In groups of three using handout 1 and page 120 in Black Mask Person one will take notes on TYPE A Person two = TYPE B Person three = TYPE C You will then go to P121 and take notes on what Ainsworth found with regards to the allocated type

17. After taking notes on the allocated type, you will explain this type to other members of your group, who will take notes from this

18. What conclusions can be drawn from Ainsworth Strange Situation?
Mothers who are able to correctly interpret infants signals and respond appropriately to infants needs are likely to have securely-attached infants
Those mothers who cannot tend to have insecurely-attached infants

19. Evaluation of the Strange Situation
Ainsworth identified the importance of parental sensitivity
These results have been backed up by similar studies

20. Evaluation of the Strange Situation
Different observers watched the same children and generally agreed on attachment types (94%)
Good inter-rater reliability

21. Can the study be replicated?
YES
However, it is an artificial way of assessing attachment
Based in a laboratory setting
The mother and stranger act according to a script
Not like an everyday situation = lacks ecological validity

22. However,
Main & Cassidy (1988) suggests infants do not all fit into the three categories introduced by Ainsworth Attachment types can change – they are not permanent, like Ainsworth suggests Research sample was restricted to around 100 middle class Americans and their infants…. This is unlikely to be representative of the wider population

23. The procedure was designed by an American based on observations of American children… there lies the issue of cultural bias
It could be argued to be Eurocentric (focuses on European culture and excludes wider view of world)

24. Create a story board of the strange situation
Plenary
Create a story board of the strange situation