The experiment of the strange situation of Ainsworth and the 3 types of attachment

Mary Ainsworth's strange situation experiment refers to a video in which an experiment of a renowned psychologist is observed, considered Bowlby's disciple. Is about Mary Ainsworth, who evaluated the different types of attachment that arise between a baby and its reference figure; In the case of the video, it is the link with the mother.

This experiment made it possible for the psychologist to observe the reaction of the little ones in the absence of the mother and what was the answer during the reunion.

Content

• Attachment, an important link in childhood
• The strange situation of Ainsworth
  • The 8 stages of the experiment of the strange situation of Ainsworth
• Classification of attachment styles
  • Bibliography

Attachment, an important link in childhood

During early childhood, Attachment is a relevant emotional bond that fulfills an adaptive function Able to facilitate survival, as well as provides emotional security, support and well -being.

It is important that the child feels loved by his closest attachment figures. In general, The attachment that develops between babies and parents is usually cataloged as insurance, Which means that children feel security to explore the environment under the attention of the father and mother's gaze.

This also implies that, in moments of separation, anxiety is not very deep, because they look for the look of their protective figures and quickly feel reconforted.

However, in some circumstances the emotional bond that is built is not the most appropriate for children, so it is called 'insecure attachment'. In these cases, children do not explore the environment safely, but feel anxiety about separation and when they see their attachment figures do not feel comforted.

The strange situation of Ainsworth

In 1960 Mary Ainsworth designed a tool that allowed him to evaluate what the type of attachment in children was and identify what his style was.

It should be noted that, in the first years of life, children experience changes that are important for their emotional development; Among them are social ties. That is why many psychology professionals have been interested in deepening the protection and security relationships that arise between children and their caregivers, being one of the most relevant contributions of John Bowlby, who between 1969 and 1980 developed his theory of his theory Attachment.

The affective bond that is established between a baby and its caregivers is important because, although it begins at approximately three months, it extends throughout life and is reflected in the relationships they have with couples, the Friends and even with children.

This implies that the attitude of the parents towards their children, and the style of attachment that develops, will influence the quality of the links that the person will develop in their future.

Although Bowlby presented the bases on this theory, psychologist Mary Ainsworth built a technique in 1960 to evaluate attachment, known as "Strange situation". This technique is used in the field of development psychology to identify what the child's attachment style is from twelve months and requires that the child's behavior be studied in laboratory conditions, with the interactions of a strange adult and Your main caregiver, simulating three scenarios.

These scenarios are as follows: the natural interactions between the caregiver and the child in the presence of toys; the momentary separations between the caregiver and the short meetings with a strange subject and the meeting pictures with the caregiver.

Ainsworth's strange situation experiment was carried out in a small room covered with glass to observe the behavior of the baby covertly. The exhibition was made up of one hundred middle -class families, with small ages between twelve and eighteen months.

The procedure was to observe the behavior of the infant in eight episodes, whose duration was three minutes each, being able to be shorter if the baby experienced excessive anguish.

The 8 stages of the experiment of the strange situation of Ainsworth

Among the stages of the experiment of the strange situation of Ainsworth the following episodes were developed:

1. The mother, the baby and the experimenter: The observer introduces the mother and the baby in the room with toys, for thirty seconds;
2. The mother and the baby: The infant explores the room and toys, while the mother does not participate in it;
3. The stranger, the mother and the son: A stranger enters the room to talk for a few minutes with the mother. In the first minute, the stranger remains silent; In the second minute, the conversation with the mother arises; In the third minute the stranger approaches the baby;
4. The mother and the baby: The mother separates from the baby and leaves the room;
5. The mother returns: The stranger leaves. The first moment of reunion is given. The mother enters the room, greets and gives love to the baby, trying to make the infant return to the games;
6. The mother leaves: He leaves the baby and the second separation episode is given;
7. The stranger returns: Now the subject will try to interact with the little one;
8. The mother returns and the stranger leaves: It is the second moment of reunion. The mother enters, takes the baby in the arms and the stranger leaves the room.

Classification of attachment styles

Attachment styles in the experiment of the strange situation of Ainsworth are based on the observation of four behaviors based on the directed interaction, that is, on episodes 5 and 8.

The behaviors are those of proximity and search for contact; the contact maintained; The avoidance of proximity and contact and resistance to contact and comfort.

The observer takes notes on the behavior that manifests for fifteen seconds, classifying the intensity of said behavior, using a scale of 1 to 7.

When the observation ends, three attachment styles are established that describe the link of babies with their mothers.

• The safe attachment: when infants feel security to explore during separation episodes; They show anguish when the mother leaves, but react with encouragement when she returns. This happened with 65 % of babies.
• Aviting attachment: Babies demonstrated an insecure and avoidant style, that is, given the separation, their anguish was minimal and when their mother returned, they tried to avoid it. This happened in 25 % of cases.
• Ambivalent attachment: The baby showed anguish throughout the procedure, especially during separation. During the meeting process, the baby demonstrated anger. This happened only in 10 % of the sample.

These were the main conclusions of the experiment of the strange situation of Ainsworth, a reference study today.

Attachments: What are they? How to identify when an attachment is not healthy?

Bibliography

• Maciá, c. EITHER. Influence of the attachment bond. Futur, 1695, 151.
• MCLEOD, s. TO., & Bowlby, J. (2008). Mary Ainsworth.
• Rodriguez, g. M. (2009). Validation of the strange situation method in Argentine children between 1 and 3 years old.
• Sánchez, r. M. (2021). Criticism of Bowlby and Ainsworth's attachment theory as defends the most critical current, the enormous popularity of attachment theory is much superior to the scientific evidence that sustains it. Sources, (23).