The Strange Situation
The attachment theory provides an explanation on the importance of how bonding
and attachment is to personal development in infancy and childhood. The
emotional tie between a mother and infant is known as bonding and often occurs
shortly after birth. Attachment is a relationship that develops during infancy
and John Bowlby a British psychiatrist believes that there are four phases in
the development of attachment. In phase
1, newborns are still in the bonding face, therefore attachment has not
begun. In phase 2, which occurs around
two months, infants demonstrate the ability to recognize the difference between
caregivers, however attachment has not yet developed. In phase 3 is when attachment begins around
seven months and “infants clearly discriminate the caregiver from other people
and begin to show preferential treatment toward the caregiver” (Rieser-Danner
& Slaughter, 2016) .
Phase 4 is when infants secure the bond with caregivers and attachment
becomes relevant to their relationship. This paper will provide a review of a
study conducted by psychologist Mary Ainsworth in which she explored different
aspects of mother and infant attachments.
Experiment Details
The Strange Situation was an assessment that was conducted by
Psychologist Mary Ainsworth as a method to investigate “how attachment might
vary between children” (McLeod, 2008) . There were 56 infants that were participants
from middle class white families and they were divided into subsamples, one
included 23 infants, “who had been observed longitudinally from birth onward,
were observed in the strange situation when 51 weeks old” (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970) and the other
included 33 infants who were observed at 49 weeks of age. The observation was conducted in a room that
was intended to “be novel enough to elicit exploratory behavior, and yet not so
strange that it would evoke fear and heighten attachment behavior at the
outset” (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970) . The room was furnished but it was arranged in
a way that a significant amount of empty space was left open. There was a chair for the child and toys were
present on one side and a chair for the mother and opposite that chair was a
chair for a stranger on the other side.
The experiment begun with the infant being placed in the area that was
purposely left empty and was “left free to move where he wished” (Ainsworth
& Bell, 1970) . There was a total of eight different
scenarios used to initiate, measure and record behaviors that occurred. The scenarios involved mother-infant and the
observer; mother-infant; mother-infant and stranger; mother departs leaving
infant alone with stranger; mother departs leaving infant alone; stranger comes
back while infant is alone; mother comes back while infant was with stranger
and stranger leaves. The results of
those scenarios were recorded to demonstrate the difference in the behavior of
the infants as it relates to attachment.
The behaviors that were described during the research were categorized in
four different ways, proximity and contact-seeking behaviors;
contact-maintaining behaviors; proximity and interaction-avoiding behaviors;
contact and interaction-resisting behaviors.
Proximity and contact-seeking behaviors involved the infant actively
attempting to make contact gestures such as reaching, approaching or
crying. Contact-maintaining behaviors
occurred once the infant made contact, they made every effort to maintain that
contact through “resisting release by intensified clinging on” (Ainsworth
& Bell, 1970) . Proximity and interaction behaviors occurred
when someone other than the caretaker attempted to interact with the infant and
the infant purposely ignored that adult by looking away and then moving away.
Contact and interaction-resisting behavior occurred with the infant resisting
contact from someone other than the caregiver and throws temper tantrums trying
to get away from the unfamiliar person.
Main Points
The research determined that “patterns of attachment is believed to be
the result of the history of interaction between the caregiver and infant” (Rieser-Danner
& Slaughter, 2016) , therefore it does not occur by chance
but rather it is based on the circumstances.
If the infant is exposed to an unfamiliar environment they may
experience fear and that will result in attachment intensifying and those
feelings can only be resolved with reuniting the infant with their caretaker.
The findings from the research suggest that levels of attachment are based on
individual differences that is dependent upon the relationship developed
between a mother and her child. If a
mother is consistently responsive to the needs of their child in a sensitive
manner a secure attachment will develop and mothers that are less sensitive
when responding to the needs of their child are more than likely to develop an
insecure attachment.
Examining the main points that were presented in the research study and
reflecting on my own personal experience, I would have to say that I agree with
the conclusion to the experiment. I
believe that children whom are accustomed to always being with their mother
will experience heightened levels of anxiety if someone must care for them not
in the presence of their mother and/or father.
I can support this claim through personal experience with my now 11-year-old
daughter who was cared for by her father for the first six months of her life
and when it was time for her to go to daycare, she demonstrated contact and
interaction behaviors for the first week of being in the care of someone
else. When an infant or young child’s
normal routine is altered and they are exposed to a different environment and
unfamiliar people are present I believe they develop a sense of fear and may
struggle to adapt to that environment.
German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson developed a psychosocial theory that
focused on infant/toddler development in relation to the parent-infant
relationship. Erikson’s theory state that
“a healthy outcome during infancy depends on the quality of care giving;
relieving discomfort promptly and sensitively and holding the infant gently” (Berk, 2014, p. 184) , therefore
developing a level of trust can ensure a healthy attachment. Many parents have reservations about having
others care for their children at such a young age and opt out of childcare
arrangements, however I personally believe that the best way for infants and
toddlers to develop levels of trust outside of their parents is to be in
different environments. When infants and
toddlers are exposed to environments that promote healthy interactions amongst each
other healthy attachments can develop making it easier on the parents to
separate from their children for short periods of time. Having a complete understanding of
developmental milestones is also important to intervention because that allows
caretakers to make informed decisions regarding the level of care the child
should be receiving. Understanding child
development ensures that caretakers are implementing age-appropriate
interactions and activities with children that will not increase levels of
anxiety due to frustration and fear of the unknown.
Conclusion
Several experiments have been conducted to measure mother-infant
attachments and The Strange Situation was a specific experiment that caught a
lot of attention. The experiment was
conducted in a laboratory setting instead of the home environment because
researchers believed that was the only way to produce valid results. The goal was to identify different levels of
attachment by exposing the infant to different conditions involving the
caretaker and strangers. The results concluded that there were high levels of
attachment in the infants when left in the presence of strangers without the
mother being present, therefore supporting the attachment theory claim on the
importance of bonding and attachment is to personal development. The review of the strange situation was designed
to summarize the experiment, discuss the main points that were made by the
researchers and provide an opinion on whether I agreed or disagreed with the
viewpoints. Finally, the review discussed
specific techniques that are applicable to ensuring infants and toddlers
develop healthy attachments with caregivers.
References
Ainsworth, M. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970).
Attachment, exploration, and separation: Illustrated by the behavior of
one-year-old in a strange situation. Child Development, 41(1), 49-67.
Berk, L. E. (2014). Development
Through the Lifespan (Vol. Sixth Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Pearson.
McLeod, S. (2008). Strange Situation. Simply
Psychology. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/mary-ainsworth.html
Rieser-Danner, L. A., & Slaughter, V.
(2016). Attachment and bonding in infancy and childhood. Salem Press
Encyclopedia Of Health.
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