Project 1: Attachment
The purpose of this project is to gain a better understanding of attachment and how it is measured using Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Test. Creating a secure bond between infant and caregiver is an important part of development. However, the nature of each relationship varies considerably due to differences in care giving practices, social and cultural norms, individual temperament, etc. Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Test as a means of assessing attachment across this range of individual differences.
Arrange to observe an infant or toddler and his/her primary caregiver in a play setting outside the child’s home. Ideally, ask a relative or a friend and his/her child to participate. It may also be possible to observe a child and caregiver at a daycare center (with permission from parents and staff). The play setting could be in your home, at a local playground, or at any other mutually agreeable location.
Before your scheduled observation period, read the questions below so that you will know what behaviors to watch for. Also, review chapter 7 slides and watch the chapter 7 lecture which discuss attachment theory and measuring attachment. Observe your participants for approximately one hour of unstructured play. During the observation period, try to loosely replicate Ainsworth’s Strange Situation, by asking the caregiver to leave the area for a minute or so and then return. Observe the child’s reaction. After the observation period, write a 4-5 paged paper that answers the following questions based on your observations and what you have read in your text.
- Describe the participants and setting that you chose for observing attachment. In what ways did your setting resemble the “Strange Situation” used to measure attachment in the lab?
- As the caregiver and child interacted, what signs of attachment did you observe in the child’s behavior (for example, contact-seeking, proximity-seeking)? What signs of attachment did you observe in the caregiver’s behavior (for example, eye contact, responsiveness to the child’s behavior)?
- Describe the child’s reactions to the caregiver’s departure and return. Did the child’s behavior match any of the patterns of behavior described by Ainsworth (secure, insecure-avoidant, resistant)?
- Considering your brief observation, would you say that the child you observed was securely attached or insecurely attached, as described in the text? Give examples of the child’s behavior that support your conclusion.
- Some critics of the Strange Situation believe that it is not a valid measure of attachment for all children. Infants who are regularly placed in day care, for example, may behave differently than home-reared infants because of their prior experiences, not because of differences in attachment. Do you feel, therefore, that this observation is a valid test of attachment? Why or why not? In what other ways could parent-child attachment be measured?
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