Key research Ainsworth and Bell 1970 Aim To

Key research: Ainsworth and Bell (1970)

Aim • To observe the attachment behaviours of a child using a ‘strange situation’ in a lab. Participants • 56 white, middle class children • 23 were observed from birth (51 weeks old) • 33 were observed at 49 weeks old (they had been recruited from another study)

Procedure • Each child was tested individually. • They were placed in a square room (9 ft by 9 ft). • At one end of the room was a child’s chair surrounded by toys. At the other end was a chair for the mother. Near the door was a chair for a stranger. • The child was put in the room and left to play freely. • The ‘strange situation’ then plays out in seven distinct episodes.

Strange situation Episode Situation 1 Mother carries baby into room, stranger follows but then leaves. 2 Mother puts the child down and sits down and reads to herself for 3 minutes (unless the child wants attention). 3 Stranger enters then sits for 1 minute talking to the mother. Approaches baby with a toy – the mother then leaves after 3 minutes. 4 Stranger sits with the baby, if the baby is happy. If the baby is inactive the stranger plays with toys. If the baby is distressed the stranger comforts for 3 minutes unless the baby cannot be comforted. 5 Mother enters and stays by the door, the stranger leaves once the child is settled. Mother also leaves. 6 Baby is left alone for 3 minutes unless upset. 7 Stranger enters and sits with the baby if happy – engages if the child is happy and comforts if the child is sad for 3 minutes. 8 Mother returns and stranger leaves.

Observations • Throughout this the child is observed every 15 seconds through a one-way mirror in the room. Certain behaviours were watched for and scored for strength, frequency and duration. • Contact-seeking behaviours – Crying at people, sitting on lap, the proximity to the adults. Contact-maintaining behaviours – Clinging, hugging, protesting if released. Interaction -voiding behaviours – Ignoring adults, moving away from them. Interaction-resisting behaviours – Pushing away adults, screaming. Searching behaviours for adults. Following mother to the door and going to mother’s empty chair (when she wasn’t in the room). Exploratory behaviours – Exploring the room, looking around, playing with toys. • • •

Results Category Finding Exploratory behaviour Decreased in the stranger’s presence compared to the mother. But also decreased when the mother played with the child. Crying Minimal crying when the stranger was there. Crying happened when the mother left and stopped when the mother came back. Crying again when the mother leaves again and continues even when the stranger comes in. Search behaviour Moderate when the mother was present. Slightly more when the stranger was present. Most often when alone. Contact-maintaining Shown most often for the mother (when she returned) behaviour Occasionally shown to strangers but less often. Contact-resisting behaviours Most did not show this. When shown it was after the mother returned and increased with each separation (half showed it at episode 8). Less of this

Discussion • Children explored at first but once the mother left and returned showed less exploration (clinging onto her). • When the mother was gone there were more contact-seeking behaviours which continued when she came back and never returned to their original levels. • The effects of the separation (the distress and despair) lasted longer than the separation happened for. Similar findings with animals have also shown this. • The reason for avoiding the stranger could simply be fear of the unknown, however, avoiding the mother could be due to detachment of the carer.

Concept of attachment • Looking at both previous research and the findings from this study, Ainsworth and Bell suggested the following concept of attachment which they suggest could be applied to humans and animals: Attachment can happen without showing attachment behaviours. Attachment behaviours are shown more often in threatening situations. Attachment behaviours do not happen with exploratory behaviours. Just because attachment behaviours are not shown as often doesn’t mean there is less attachment. • Individual differences show each mother–child relationship as unique but they don’t reveal the strength of the attachment. • •