Ainsworth’s strange situation

1. Ainsworth’s strange situation Here I was with my pal John Bowlby… I love John’s theories. We just needed a way to assess the sort of attachment a child had. Cultural Variations next lesson – Prep 7. Mary Ainsworth 1913-1999

2. Quick starter. This item is on page 15 in your purple packs. Feel free to annotate as we discuss it Two mothers at the toddler and parent group are chatting. “I always felt sorry for my husband when Millie was a baby. He used to say his bond with Millie was not as strong as mine because I was breastfeeding.” “I’m not sure”, replies the other mother. “I think there’s something important about a mother’s love that makes it more special anyway- and so important for future development.” Discuss the learning theory of attachment and Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment. Refer to the conversation above in your answer. (16 marks) How would you link the theories to the item?

3. “I think there’s something important about a mother’s love that makes it more special anyway- and so important for future development He used to say his bond with Millie was not as strong as mine because I was breastfeeding.” “I always felt sorry for my husband when Millie was a baby. He used to say his bond with Millie was not as strong as mine because I was breastfeeding.” “I’m not sure”, replies the other mother. “I think there’s something important about a mother’s love that makes it more special anyway- and so important for future development.” The mother fed the baby so became the CS and the bond the CR whereas the father didn’t so didn’t get to from the attachment bond so would remain the NS OR the mother is the secondary reinforce and the food the primary so that is why the their bond is stronger. Mothers love/special bond-monotropy Important for future development-internal working model

4. This is a scenario essay so is assessed in a different way Ao1-6 Ao2-4 Ao3-6 • What do you remember about how to answer questions like this? • Marks available? • Recommended order of points– as per AQA examiner • Most effective evaluation?

5. Ao1-summarise the learning theory -summarise Monotropic theory (but you can just focus on monotropy and the internal working model) Ao2-application-Quote the scenario and link to the theory A03-two PEEL points It’s a compare essay really so choose two of the compare points from last lesson. Remember? Nature v’s nurture and evidence supporting and contradicting

6. Ainsworth’s strange situation Here I was with my pal John Bowlby… I loved John’s theories. We just needed a way to assess the sort of attachment a child had. Mary Ainsworth 1913-1999

7. Prep question time What research method is the strange situation using? How old were the infants being observed? What are the three types of attachment called? Ahmed is very clingy to his mother and won’t play with toys or explore the Centre. When his mother goes to the toilet and he is left with strangers in the room he gets extremely distressed, and can almost not breathe he is crying so much. When she returns he goes to her for a cuddle but hits her in the face at the same time and then will not leave her side for the rest of the time he is there. What type of attachment does Ahmed have and why? What behaviours did Ainsworth assess? (there are several)

8. Fully re-write on your MWB in the correct order • Stranger enters and attempts to interact • The child is encouraged to explore with caregiver in the room • Mothers leaves • Mother returns and interacts with child • Mother and child enter the playroom • Mother enters and the stranger leaves • Stranger returns • Mothers leaves while the stranger is present State which stage, measures which behaviour

9. The Strange Situation • Stage 1 – Mother and child enter the playroom • Stage 2 – The child is encouraged to explore • Stage 3 – Stranger enters and attempts to interact • Stage 4 – Mothers leaves while the stranger is present • Stage 5 – Mother enters and the stranger leaves • Stage 6 – Mothers leaves • Stage 7 – Stranger returns • Stage 8 – Mother returns and interacts with child

10. The strange situation study Watch the clips and see if you can work out the attachment type each baby is displaying You must justify your answer Baby 1 Baby 2

11. The strange situation study In pairs, on MWBs, draw out the following table and complete it without looking at your notes:

12. The strange situation study Did you get it right?

13. Quick starter: The strange situation study Watch the clips and see if you can work out the attachment type each baby is displaying You must justify your answer Baby 1 Baby 2

14. Evaluating Ainsworth’s strange situation Here I was with my pal John Bowlby… I love John’s theories. We just needed a way to assess the sort of attachment a child had. Cultural Variations next lesson – still Prep 7. Mary Ainsworth 1913-1999

15. Evaluation of the strange situation This means that we can be sure that the attachment type that each child is assessed as having is not just down to the interpretation of the individual observer. It also suggests that the behaviour we are observing is consistent behaviour and not a product of the child being in an unfamiliar situation Read the following findings and, discuss what that finding suggests about the Strange Situation study. You will need to use your knowledge of research methods terminology to be able to do this • Different observers watching the same children tend to agree on what attachment type to classify infants as. Bick (2012) found the similarity between different observers classifications was as high as 94% • Vaughn and waters (1990) compared the behaviour of 1 year olds in the strange situation and at home and found that children who had been assessed as securely attached in Ainsworth’s procedure, also displayed secure attachment behaviour in the home The first finding suggests that the research has high inter-rater reliability The second finding suggests that the study has high external (ecological) validity as the findings generalise to a real life situation Now see if you can complete evaluation point 1 on your sheet.

16. Evaluation of the strange situation What did Ainsworth believe was responsible for a baby’s attachment type? SO …what might lead to a child developing a secure attachment, and what might lead to a child developing an insecure attachment? She believed that the way the mother responded to the child influenced its attachment type A mother who responses sensitively to the child’s needs (secure), or a mother who does not respond sensitively to the child’s needs (insecure) Now read the case study on the next slide and think about what it might suggest about a baby’s attachment type

17. Evaluation of the strange situation “During the first six months of Noah’s life, I don’t think I slept for more than two hours at a time on any one night. Noah was constantly crying and whatever I did he didn’t seem to stop. He was assessed by a doctor, but there was no physical problem. It was difficult for me, as I felt as if whatever I did for him, it didn’t seem to have any effect. I was tired all the time and spent a lot of time crying. After a few months, my doctor suggested that I may be suffering from depression and started me on anti-depessants. My first child was really easy. She slept through the night from 8 weeks old, and was generally quite a calm baby. It was such a shock having Noah” How do you think having a baby like Noah might have affect a mother’s behaviour?

18. Evaluation of the strange situation Kagan proposed the temperament hypothesis, which suggests that babies may be born with an innate temperament that possible influences the way the mother reacts to the baby. Although there is limited evidence to support the temperament hypothesis, it does highlight a problem with Ainsworth’s conclusion Why might we consider the research to be socially sensitive? Now Use this and the discussion about Noah to complete point 2. Try to be specific to the study, not generic. Use terms like… Cause effect

19. Evaluation of the strange situation • Japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their children that they show very high levels of separation anxiety and in observations Japanese mothers tended to race to their children and scoop them up at the reunion stage. • 27% of Japanese babies were classified as insecure resistant, a much higher proportion than in western cultures How do you turn this into a PEEL? In pairs discuss any problem with Ainsworth’s research on the basis of this? It is culturally biased, as the attachment types are based on Western ideals What is the possible consequence of this bias? (use the second bullet point to help you come up with an answer) It leads to other cultures’ child rearing practices as being judged negatively, as we are labelling the babies as ‘insecure’

20. Evaluation of the strange situation Point: An example of culture bias in psychology is in Ainsworth’s Strange situation methodology used to investigate attachment Evidence/explain: The Strange Situation test assumes that behavior has the same meaning in all cultures, when in fact cultural perception and understanding of behavior differ greatly. The Strange Situation was created and tested in the USA. Many researchers assumed that the strange situation had the same meaning for infants in other cultures resulting in potentially invalid conclusions. Evidence/explain: For example that Japanese mothers are overly sensitive to the needs of the children as Japanese children showed a higher rate of insecure-resistant behavior at 27%. However extremely close mother-child relationships are a cultural norm in Japan which explains why the children behaved differently to those in the US. Link: Ainsworth’s research methodology is therefore an inappropriate and ineffective way to accurately measure attachment due to its ethnocentrism as it was assumed that the US model of classifying attachment was the norm