Post by SH on Oct 5, 2017 1:00:12 GMT
Strange situation is the study of attachment developed by Ainsworth to see the behavior and reaction of the infant when the mother temporarily leaves her infant in the company of a stranger. The study paid close attention to two things.
First, to the behavior of the infant when the mother left the room and infant was alone with the stranger. Secondly and more importantly, how the child reacted when the mother entered the room again.
The conclusion was that the reactions were classified into 3 categories. The first being secure attachment- the child plays happily in the presence of the mother and even interacts with the stranger, but reacts negatively when they notice the mother exit the room. The key point is that the child responds positively to the mother returning and quickly calms down and resumes playing. Two thirds of the children fell in this category. The second category is anxious/avoidant attachment where the child does not react strongly when the mother leaves or returns in the room. Instead, when the mother returns the infant looks away and does not look for comfort. One third of children fell in this category. The last category was anxious/resistant attachment and this is when the infant shows high level of anxiety in the company of the mother and upon her return shows resistance to her efforts in comforting them. This can be important to the study of developmental psychology because it shows how attachment can predict later development of the child. Specifically, if there is a relationship between attachment patterns and mental health.
First, to the behavior of the infant when the mother left the room and infant was alone with the stranger. Secondly and more importantly, how the child reacted when the mother entered the room again.
The conclusion was that the reactions were classified into 3 categories. The first being secure attachment- the child plays happily in the presence of the mother and even interacts with the stranger, but reacts negatively when they notice the mother exit the room. The key point is that the child responds positively to the mother returning and quickly calms down and resumes playing. Two thirds of the children fell in this category. The second category is anxious/avoidant attachment where the child does not react strongly when the mother leaves or returns in the room. Instead, when the mother returns the infant looks away and does not look for comfort. One third of children fell in this category. The last category was anxious/resistant attachment and this is when the infant shows high level of anxiety in the company of the mother and upon her return shows resistance to her efforts in comforting them. This can be important to the study of developmental psychology because it shows how attachment can predict later development of the child. Specifically, if there is a relationship between attachment patterns and mental health.