Strange situation

1. Attachment
Specification:
• Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of
attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant and
insecure resistant. Cultural variations in
attachment, including Van Ijzendoorn.

2. Types of attachment
• Mary Ainsworth was a
student of John Bowlby.
• She was the first psychologist
to identify consistent
differences in the type of
attachment relationship
babies and young children
had with their primary
attachment figure.

3. Types of attachment
• Ainsworth conducted research in Uganda in
Africa.
• She observed that some mothers were more
sensitive to their babies needs and this
influenced the nature and quality of the
attachment between the infant and mother

4. Types of attachment
• Sensitive mothers had securely attached
infants.
• Securely attached infants, were less anxious,
cried less, were more curious about their
environment, and appeared more
independent.
• Mary Ainsworth concluded that the ‘securely
attached infants’ used their mothers as a
‘secure base’ to explore their environment.

5. • She called this attachment type: secure
attachment.

6. Types of attachment
• The Strange Situation: Ainsworth (1971)
• Ainsworth designed the ‘Strange Situation’ to
identify the type of attachment an infant had
with its primary caregiver.
• You need to be able to describe the ‘Strange
Situation’ in detail.
• Read p. 24 and complete the table provided.