The first years of a child’s life are characterized by a series of significant changes, in which emotional development and the establishment of social bonds take on special importance. This has led psychology professionals to look more deeply into the safe and protective relationships that are established between babies and their primary caregivers. The most outstanding contribution is the Attachment Theory , developed by John Bowlby between 1969 and 1980.

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

Although Bowlby laid the foundations of this theory, it was the psychologist Mary Ainsworth, who in 1960 developed the first attachment assessment technique, known as “Strange Situation” . Let’s see what it consists of.

The Strange Situation technique

This is a technique designed by psychologist Mary Ainsworth and used in Developmental Psychology in order to determine the nature of the 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 caregiver and child in presence of toys .
  • Brief separations from the caregiver and brief encounters with a stranger .
  • Episodes of meeting with the caretaker.

The experiment was conducted in a small room with univision glass, in order to observe the baby’s behavior in a covert way. The sample was composed of 100 middle-class American families, with babies between 12 and 18 months old.

The procedure to follow

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

1. Mother, baby and experimenter

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

2. Mother and baby

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

3. Stranger joins mother and child

It’s the moment when a stranger enters the room. During the first minute he remains silent, to talk to the mother in the second minute. During the third minute, the stranger begins to approach the baby .

4. Mother leaves baby and stranger alone

It is the first separation episode in which the mother leaves the room . The behaviour of the stranger is coordinated with that of the baby.

5. The mother returns and the stranger leaves

It’s the first episode of reunion. The mother enters, greets and comforts the baby , trying to get him to return to his play activity.

6. Mother leaves, abandoning baby

This is the second phase of separation.

7. The stranger returns

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

8. Mother returns and a stranger leaves

This is the second episode of reunion in which the mother enters, 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 search .
  • Contact maintained.
  • Avoidance of proximity and contact.
  • Contact resistance and comfort.

The observer notes the behavior shown 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 the babies manifest with their mothers.

Secure Attachment

Babies feel safe to explore freely during separation episodes . They show distress when the mother leaves and react with enthusiasm when she returns. This pattern occurred in 65% of the babies.

2. Evasive Attachment

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

3. Ambivalent attachment

The baby shows signs of distress throughout the procedure, especially during separation. The meetings with the caregiver produce a mixture of angry release directed at the caregiver. This pattern occurred in only 10% of the babies.

To learn more about attachment and its different types, you can read this article: “Childhood attachment: definition, functions and types”

Bibliographic references:

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