The Strange Situation: A Technique for Assessing Infant Attachment

Mary Ainsworth developed in 1960 the first tool to assess the type of attachment in children.

The first years of a child's life are characterized by a set of significant changes, in which emotional development and the establishment of social bonds take on special relevance. This has led psychology professionals to delve into the security and protective relationships established between infants and their primary caregivers. The most outstanding contribution is the Attachment Theorydeveloped by John Bowlby between 1969 and 1980.

Attachment refers to the emotional, affective and intense bond that is established between an infant and its primary caregiver, usually the mother or father.usually the mother or father. This style of attachment begins in infancy, at around 3 months of age, and continues throughout life, in relationships with friends, partners and children. Thus, the attitude of parents towards their children and the type of attachment established between them will determine the quality of the emotional bonds that the infant will establish throughout his or her life.

Although Bowlby laid the foundations of this theory, it was the psychologist Mary Ainsworth, who in 1960 elaborated the first technique for the evaluation of attachment. the first attachment assessment technique, known as the "Strange Situation", in 1960.. Let's see what it consists of.

The Strange Situation technique

This is a technique a technique designed by the psychologist Mary Ainsworth and used in the Developmental Psychology in order to determine the nature of attachment style in children from 12 months of age. This technique involves studying the child in laboratory conditions, in interaction with his or her primary caregiver and a strange adult, simulating three types of situations:

• Natural interactions between the caregiver and the child in the presence of toys.
• Brief separations from the caregiver and Brief encounters with a strange individual.
• Episodes of reunion with the caregiver.

The experiment was conducted in a small room with univision glass in order to observe the infant's behavior covertly. The sample consisted of 100 middle-class American families with infants aged 12 to 18 months.

The procedure to be followed

The procedure consisted of observing the infant's behavior in a series of 8 episodes lasting approximately 3 minutes each, which could be shortened if the infant was excessively distressed. The different stages of the experiment are presented below.:

1. Mother, baby and experimenter

In this phase, the observer mother and baby into an experimental room with toys and toys that are. It lasts approximately 30 seconds.

Mother and baby

In this episode the baby explores the room and the toys, while the mother does not participate in the activity.while the mother does not participate in the activity.

3. Stranger joins mother and child

This is the moment when a stranger enters the room. During the first minute he remains silent, to converse with the mother in the second minute. During the third minute, the stranger begins to approach the baby..

4. The mother leaves the baby and the stranger alone

This is the first separation episode in which the mother leaves the room. The stranger's behavior is coordinated with that of the infant.

5. The mother returns and the stranger leaves

This is the first episode of reunion. The mother enters, greets and comforts the infant, trying to get the infant to return to his play activity.The mother enters, greets and comforts the infant, trying to get the infant to return to his play activity.

6. The mother leaves, abandoning the baby

This is the second phase of separation.

7. The stranger returns

Separation from the mother continues, but now the stranger enters to try to interact with the baby.

8. Mother returns and stranger leaves

This is the second episode of reunion in which the mother enters the roomShe takes the baby in her arms and the stranger leaves the room.

Classification of attachment styles

Attachment classifications are based primarily on the observation of 4 interaction behaviors directed toward the mother in the two reunion episodes (Episodes 5 and 8). These behaviors are:

• Proximity and contact seeking..
• Contact maintaining.
• Avoidance of proximity and contact. and contact.
• Resistance to contact and comforting.

The observer notes the behavior displayed during 15-second intervals and rates the intensity of the behavior on a scale of 1 to 7. At the end of the observation, three attachment styles are established to describe the bonding that infants show with their mothers.

Secure Attachment

Infants feel safe to explore freely during separation episodes.. They show distress when the mother leaves and react with excitement when she returns. This pattern was found in 65% of infants.

2. Avoidant Attachment

Infants included in this pattern are described as insecure-avoidant. They show little distress at separation and when the mother returns they tend to avoid her.. This was the case in 25% of the babies.

3. Ambivalent Attachment

The infant shows signs of distress throughout the procedure, especially during separation. Meetings with the caregiver produce a mixture of release and anger directed at the caregiver. directed at the caregiver. This pattern occurred in only 10% of the infants.

To learn more about attachment and its different types, you can consult this article: "Infant attachment: definition, functions and types".

Bibliographical references:

• Bowlbz, J. (1993). Attachment: attachment and loss. Paidos Ibérica.
• Wallin, D. (2012). Attachment in psychotherapy. Desclée De Brouwer.