The Strange Situation - Mary Ainsworth

[aedaii]

so distressing for the child!

[pops24x7]

ok im watching this to revise but at 00:34 i can hear a whisper and to me it sounds like kill self or something like that :S

[rietjer1]

@pops24x7 she says "goed zo" which means well done :p

it's dutch

[clemssss]

@Sly1984montreal This experiment doesn't just prove one single and narrow point. It links to other things.

[elleriicee]

would you say this experiment is to do with learning theory? (bowlby's theory) x

[LilLucyLamb]

@elleriicee Learning Theory isn't Bowlby's Theory. Learning Theory is Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's dogs) and Operant conditioning (Dollard and Miller) Learning Theory suggests that attachment is learnt through these types of conditioning. Bowlby's Theory is that attachment is not learnt, but inborn, it is an innate drive that infants have to survive, one example of this is Lorenz's geese.

[thomasjeeh]

@Sly1984montreal If you are refering to my comment, you should re-read it. There is no verbal agressiveness in there, in whatever way you could read it. I was only asking you if you were (not) able to see that a person could extract knowledge from this type of experiment. The point of this video is to demonstrate what a baby at this age has developed, and what it has not.

[thomasjeeh]

@Sly1984montreal Are you not able to see that one could extract knowledge from this type of experiment?

[thomasjeeh]

Haha, Leeeesbethhh. The people in this film are Dutch, are they not? I thought I heard some Dutch accent coming from the man who speaks too

[AngryOrso]

@Sly1984montreal Fair enough, but the experiment actually found out that there is three main types of babies. Secure, unsecure- ressitant and unsecure avoident, secure being the most common. The "Type" of baby can be debated to weather it is nature or nurture (both in my opinion) which decides the type.

[MonsieurNonce]

@Sly1984montreal Why the fuck did they let someone as pig ignorant as you anywhere near psychology?

[shayalon]

I will say that this video does not demonstrate, to best effect, what the Strange Situation is. It demonstrates what a "normal" (Secure attachment) child will do in the situation. It doesn't address the insecure attachments (anxious-resistant, anxious-avoidant) situations or the disorganized/disoriented. It's not surprising to see that someone wouldn't understand the point of the video if they aren't familiar with Ainsworths's work. Of course they could google...

[shayalon]

@Sly1984montreal If you are legitimately confused (and this video did not explain the entire theory, so confusion is probably a good response), then instead of ridiculing the profession of psychology and psychological research, just ask, "I don't understand the point of this video, could someone please explain it to me?"  Expect people to react negatively when you ridicule their chosen profession/area of study. I agree that this video isn't the best representation of Ainsworth's theory...

[Haseeb2]

I really don't think they should do too many experiments/tests like this. I understand their points, but babies are very empressionable and it is so easy to trammatize them.  Experiments have been done on monkeys, rats and mice which show more or less the same things. Real world examples clearly show that children who are abandoned/isolated at a young ages, have deep scars for life. Scientists should not play around with this, we already know how damaging it is.

[shayalon]

@Haseeb2 Parents leave their children in the care of strangers all the time. It doesn't damage them. It's part of life. The only difference here is that there is a camera.

[AngryOrso]

I'm trying to get my head around the weird comments going on here, i mean stuff like "Why dont we stick a fork in a babys arm" and "I suspect scientists are aliens from outer space". If you dont like the video then why are you watching it? Or is there some messed up thing going on in your head?

[JaredAugerot]

what is it about this video and dumb comments!

[TwiggehLeaf]

@JaredAugerot What is it about all psychological experiment videos and stupid comments?? xD GUH, I just hate that. I was watching one about testing conservation in young children, and all the comments were about how dumb the kids were. I was like, wha, seriously??

[JaredAugerot]

@TwiggehLeaf I know right. I just see the uploader comments and the ones he is replying to had "received too many negative votes" and I haven't seen that before.

[asl2mckays]

Can you please add captions?

[PhilosopherKG]

As we are always constantly examine human beings, psychologically speaking. I feel, as if there is cause for concern in the way approach most studies like this one and others, which really irritate me to not only to see the pure ignorance and irony of using babies, monkeys or any other animal for the matter. But it's strictly use of amusement in the eye of the observer, as harsh as the sounds, we never see the any constructive outcome of the studies in themselves. Its like we all love playi

[straightjalabi]

@thibs44, is the procedure (the eight magic steps) always the same?

Because I would imagine when the parent leaves the child by themselves (the second time they leave) the child is likely to be more distraught due to their earlier experience of being left with a stranger. And that stranger probably finds it difficult to console the child.

my question is, are there groups within the study where step 4 and 6 are reversed? as in parent leaving the child by themselves and then later with stranger.

[sighch0]

@thibs44 I feal your pain at these comments hahah

[jazmineator]

I think the point of the research was to identify different types of attachment (insecure avoidant, ambivalent etc) not to see whether babies reacted to strangers or being left alone - that's a given.

[mizzleila]

Aww gosh that is so cute! This video is defiantly going to help me remember this study :).

[extremophile]

Anyone has hard of an experiment in which volunteer being told the he is gonna to help evaluate how an interviewer (who he thinks is the real subject of the experiment ) will look at him/her differently due to a fake make-up wart or scar he *thinks* he's sporting, when in fact, he's not? The subject then says he thought the guy indeed looked at him differently, but it was all in his had all along as there was no scar at all. I think I've heard about it on a podcast, but I couldn't ever find it.

[DeeDeeSmart]

i feel bad for the baby. it seems like they're using him as a lab rat

[dingoswamphead]

@DeeDeeSmart Yes, from rug rat to lab rat. This sort of stress happens regularly in any infant's life. The Strange Situation helps understand what is going on. It is how the stress is resolved that matters.

[charlottebirt1]

Hi,

I intend to cite this video in an essay I'm currently working on for uni - could you please let me know the director and the date of its production?

Thanks so much :)

[sonohito5]

I would be the kid who hardly notices her mother left...

[TheEpicSquirrels]

i love that the baby just stares at the stranger, makes me laugh eveytime xD

[sragain17]

MY MOM STILL DOES THIS TO ME

[ellandelachapelle]

The child is trying to say "You stupid fools. Why do you these "%?! experiments with me???"

[KnitKnots]

The name "the strange situation" always sounds so mysterious and interesting. it's the only reason i know this procedure so well. THE STRANGE SITUATION.

[stevedoetsch]

I suspect that scientists are aliens from outer space, as any one born in a human family in the last thousand years would not need a study to learn what's in this video.

[thibs44]

@stevedoetsch (Sigh). I give up.

[pandorlla]

@stevedoetsch he video ends before it even covers what this research is about. different children actually respond differently to this situation. these different attachment styles can predict different personality types far into adult life. This video actually contains no information on the purpose or conclusion of the study. if you really cared to know I would look for a more complete video or look up an article on infant attachment styles.

[pandorlla]

@stevedoetsch the video ends before it even covers what this research is about. different children actually respond differently to this situation. these different attachment styles can predict different personality types far into adult life. This video actually ontains no information on the purpose or conclusion of the study. if you really cared to know I would look for a more complete video or look up an article on infant attachment styles.

[Cottondose]

@stevedoetsch

Well actually, before the studies of Ainsworth, and Bowlby - to a degree - the psychological community generally believed in the Dependency Theory; which stipulated that infants imprint on their primary caregivers because they are dependent on them for food. Scientists (such as the aforementioned) theorized that this may not be the case, rather, infants imprint on their caregivers due to a need for protection and comfort (the Attachment Theory). Significant, profound difference.

[martindennis2]

@stevedoetsch Scientists don't "learn" anything from observing just the Strange Situation. The S.S. is merely a tool to measure the quality of attachment a child has with his or her caregiver. Scientific discovery comes when the different qualities of attachment are tied to other outcomes (such as adjustment to school).

[stevedoetsch]

Right. Which is why there is no discovery here. Perhaps a future outcome will tie to this data, but this experiment itself never needed to be done. So many religions and philosophies already know of the psycho/emotional impact of parents on children. In other words; duh!! Its a perfect example of modern man relearning the wisdom of the past that he rejected. If each generation has to do this mankind will never advance.

[Hufflewaffle]

@stevedoetsch "So many religions and philosophies already know of the psycho/emotional impact of parents on children"

Can you point to some literature regarding this?

[stevedoetsch]

I point to a forest, and you say "Yes, but where is a tree?" I will show you one tree; seeing the forest is up to you. Christians know that divorce can create a lifetime psycho/emotional wound in a child. That is one reason they forbid it. In this video 24-1:19: "Who impacted the girl so much wanted to die?" A: Her parents youtube.com/watch?v=HGQDkCi-OI­Y Ergo, the knowledge of that impact is not simply known via a "study", but the culture already has a system of values to prevent it.

[Hufflewaffle]

@stevedoetsch A forest. Okay. Thanks.

[Nuhmy90]

@stevedoetsch

Ma Vaffanculo!!!!

[amberyam]

@stevedoetsch This is to see how different children react to the same situation. A 'normal' healthy baby would cry when the mother leaves, but children who have been neglected will not! What they have shown you is an example of a healthy baby. This study effectively shows how different relationships with the parents can affect how the baby reacts in various ways to the same distressing situation.

[kelvin183]

Thumb up if you're from PSYC 1200

[MrCutiludissi]

How old is he?

[G4M3RGIR1]

"Children like their parents more than strangers", thanks Ms. PhD!

[thibs44]

@G4M3RGIR1 That line doesn't appear anywhere in the film - you made it up. You've missed the whole point of the Strange Situation.

[G4M3RGIR1]

@thibs44 That's fine by me, it was boring anyways! :D

[kreutzerp]

@G4M3RGIR1 Thibs44 is right. This procedure explores prevalence of Reactive Attachment Disroder in children.

[rftgf08]

@G4M3RGIR1 It's funny, because you think you're trolling, when really you're just showing us all how ignorant you are on this subject. Not all children behave the same way. Read a book (no, a Wiki search is not the same thing) about 'attachment styles' and you'll learn something.

[G4M3RGIR1]

@rftgf08 Ya see, I would, save for one teensy little detail... I really don't care.

[Kyboixx]

@G4M3RGIR1 actually the experiment was carried out by Ainsworth to see what attachment type the child was, i won't go into detail, but actually some children were easily comforted by a stranger, some didn't care whether the motherleft the room or not, this research allowed us to see through Vanijzendorn and Krunenbergs meta analysis how children attached to caregivers through different cultures....

[waterbaby1220]

@Sly1984montreal don't let your ignorance show.... =/ there are different types of attachment and if you were really studying for an exam it seems like you would know that.. and why not stick a fork in a baby's arm? It's unethical...surely your "teacher" will hav gone over ethics as well, right?

[splendidwren]

Here's my thought though... if the stranger is unable to comfort the child is the stranger then being tested for THEIR stress levels? Children are sensitive to their environment and a stressed out stranger will not yield a comforting response to a child who needs it. The child will only sense the strangers stress and avoid it out of instinct.

[multisockmonkey]

@splendidwren The 'stranger' is not unfamiliar with the situation; this person would typically be a well-trained researcher or research assistant who is comfortable with the situation. The point is that this person is unknown (i.e., a stranger) to the child.

[SpynRHD]

Section 3 corrections: @Sly1984montreal

Sorry, correction...

Japanese children would seem to suffer from insecure-resistant attachment type towards the strange situation procedure

They'd have a low willingness to explore, high stranger anxiety, become distressed on separation and will seek a reunion with caregiver...

Please anyone correct me if im wrong, im still learning :)

[SpynRHD]

Section 3: @Sly1984montreal

Ainsworth, you originally carried out the strange situation was an American, therefore the result would probably be based on her culture, more or less. Therefore its hard to generalize the strange situation to other cultures because of their attachment/upbringing, therefore if we generalized it to other cultures, Japanese children would seem to be incredibly secure attachments to their mothers.

Note: I may have got some of it wrong, still studying it @ 6th form :)

[SpynRHD]

Section 2: @Sly1984montreal

The Japanese culture is entirely different, the study by Takahashi in 1990 concluded that the infants relied on their mothers and brought up to be dependent people, because they do not experience much separation from their mothers, which would explain why they were more distressed in the strange situation compared.

Again carrying on in my next post :)

[SpynRHD]

@ Sly1984montreal there are cultural differences like what thubs44 said, not all children cry when their mum leaves the room, for example...

German culture involves keeping some interpersonal distance between parents and children, so infants do not engage in proximity-seeking behaviors in the strange situation and thus appear to be insecurely attached.

Will carry on on next post... =]

[leanneba15]

@SpynRHD Hey good points! I thought Japanese children were supposed to be with their mothers 24/7 for like the first few years and German children are rewarded for independence, they are looked upon as being intelligent and ''grown-up'' almost. its just different cultures have different views on raising children. Not 100% sure if this is completely accurate though just wondering :)

[thibs44]

You've missed the entire point of the research. The point is that children can show dramatic differences in their reactions to the Strange Situation (e.g., not all children cry when mom leaves!), and that these differences are important.

[Mindstomper187]

@thibs44 These differences are important because they are enviromentally influenced by the upbringing other than the heredity, although the heredity can influence somewhat of attachment, its more of which how often the child is left on their own, which means to say that they are less attached to their mother.

[leakeg]

@thibs44 to be fair this video doesn't actually explain the point, it would have been better if it had shown the common different types of reactions, and the correlations those behaviours have with adult behaviours.

[jazzmavrik]

Thanks for the upload, helping for my Psychology exam :D

[MoeThaCrazyBartender]

I was watching it it in the developmental psychology course at the university together with my professor!

[TheFortedeluxe]

psyc2500 represent!

[tak08810]

watching this in history of psychology at georgetown university right now! yeah

[perdedoronline]

This is more like seperation anxiety than stranger anxiety.

[ceendyann]

Hi, I have been trying to find the copyright information concerning this video so that I may request the right to use it in a university class. Can anyone help me please!

[lilmissshakz]

we watched this in school to understand attachments lol

[sleep1937]

vote up if you're watching this before your developmental psychology exam...

[LaBellaa1984]

@sleep1937 i did LOL LOL LOL

[bofhd89o]

@sleep1937 hi, what's the developmental psychology exam?

[shaannkyyxx]

@bofhd89o its probably just one of the sub topic exams:)

[StopTryingULookDumb]

@bofhd89o a college exam

[MatthewGoodRox]

@sleep1937 That's why I'm here. I wish I never took the course, painfully boring.

[sleep1937]

@MatthewGoodRox same here, but I had to take it. at least it's over and I got a 93. yay.

[StopTryingULookDumb]

@sleep1937 ya right

[cca211]

@sleep1937 OMG!! I am! I'm having my exam tomorrow!! XD

[minerslave4]

@sleep1937 right hurr

[13thSeason]

@sleep1937 you got me.

[Videodrome24]

@sleep1937 Taking it in two hours. Well played, sleep1937.

[GoldenBrandon131997]

aaawww poor baby! interesting though!

[rhcpluvr1023]

Great video. We used it in our child psychology class. Thanks for contributing to the educational side of YouTube :D

[thomasrichards1234]

Thanks for uploading, it's much easier to understand watching a video rather than reading about it in a textbook, hopefully it'll be of some help to me in my Psychology AS exam tomorrow!

[walkawayasavior]

Thankyou for the upload, great for helping aid revision!

[LewisAWhite]

Psychology revision, thanks!

[martijnspeed]

its dutch XD

[termineger]

This is interesting. Love as a child is important, but I have also seen children grow up to immature adult brats, because everytime they cried the mother gave them attention. I dont think thats helpfull to a child, because then he is too dependand on his mother and cant react to 'harsh' situations.

[CharMac]

@termineger That would be considered Insecure Resistant attachment I think. These children can't stand being apart from their mothers and even cry when they return, sort of as a "How could you leave me?" type thing.

[caramelodemaiz]

@termineger i dont leave my child to cry and that doesnt makes me an inmature adult brat. my son is a very secure and independent child and i strongly believe is partly because i am there for him when he cries. he is not "too dependant" either. you can read about attachment parenting and find out more about this.

[redeyes99]

I dont know y i love her but i just do.

~V~

[fiestank]

why is that "secure attachment"??

the baby didn't act securily and explored new territories while the mother was gone

[RSCompositions]

An example of insecure attachment would be little or no distress when the mother leaves (avoidant) or inability to be comforted upon the reunion with the mother (ambivalent)

Attachment is defined as secure if the baby explores new territories and feels secure WHILE the attachment figure is present, attentive, and available.

[fiestank]

oh, now i understand) thanks

[Darkside4Dummies]

"Technically" the baby did explore new territory. They should've used an operational definition saying that the toys on the ground would be new. The actual definition of Secure Attachment is where the child show some distress when the parent leaves the room; seek proximity, comfort, and contact upon reunion; and then gradually return to play. This was done in the video. Insecure would be (in either of the two cases) continual distress and active avoidance of the parent/caregiver.

[fsujci]

the secure attachment refers to the reunion between mother and child. The video showed both this secure attachment and separation anxiety, which is the result of the mother's absence and the stranger's presence, resoundingly denoted by WAAAAAAAA

[ledzepsarah]

@fiestank : It is secure attachment; The child uses the parent is a secure base and she can be seen crying when mother absent. Once the mother returns, child actively seeks contact and her crying is reduced immediately.

[fraciuiciui]

Right!

[BabyC51085]

This is a secure attachment right?

[gameofskate]

Im doing a A2 psychology exam end of January.

This is extremely helpful when trying to remember the stages or 'Timed Episodes' that the study contains.

Thank you ever so much for uploading!

^^;;

[crhayes00]

Bowlby's studies have been extensively reported in academic journals which means they have all passed ethics approval.

Ethics approval is ridged. Studies are presented before an ethics board, usually composed of other scientists, and in order to gain approval it must be deemed safe for all participants. Furthermore, the potential temporary damage to individuals psychological health is weighed against the pros/importance of the potential results to make sure the study is worth conducting.

[ChrisCapulet]

Thanks for uploading the video, I'm doing AS Psychology and found it hard to visualise/remember the Strange Situation episodes, but the video really helps :) Ty :]

[natalianiarchou]

@ChrisCapulet yeah im doing an essay for mary ainsworth and that video was rll helpfull!!

[outled]

every argument i have ever had it takes ten years to make the other see you already were being honest and understood the other. It was them playing the denial game, i dont need for you to accept my opinion or try and change it and the same applies to you. Your opinion is that this is a safe experiment, more power to you, doesnt mean i do.

Marking me down shows the solidarity of scientists but the lack of solidity of there claims. Same whitewash you get in any religious or political sphere.

[outled]

because i am a me not a we :)

it matters not if you 'believe' me or not lol

But i take your point, you misunderstand mine, which is i am aware that not many agree with me, its funny how theres such a fear of my opinion, i know why, but thanks for everyone for putting me in my place, where i began :)

[blondieo80]

its ethical, every child experiences this all the time. They dont show you insecure children only secure ones, thats ethical also. Dont see any problems here.

[thibs44]

You're kidding, right?

[outled]

i'm honestly not kidding, emotional intelligence would permit from doing so, scientific rationalising however might villify me, oh well.

[YouSeeSaf]

Why should we believe in your view when you won't let anyone take a different view lol

[outled]

do you willingly deny my understanding of science, you see in my argument i both acknowledge science to have an opinion and also myself. Whereas every pseudo-scientist in here tells me i cant even have that opinion and demarks me :D

If this were a popularity contest, which it is, why would i say such unpopular things??

hmmm i wonder... do you? course not.

checklist me as an idiot and move on.

[YouSeeSaf]

I don't think you're an idiot, I just think the whole point of research is to confirm/help confirm ideas. They carried out this research to test what attachment behaviours made up the 3 types of attachment. I'm only doing A level Psychology so I daren't question your understanding of science, but I'm sure the findings of the research had some use. I don't claim to know what use, I'm sure someone else on here does

[SoraQuasar]

dear lord... by reading some of the comments... i really sorry for you people. as if you never left your baby in the room so it will go to sleep and then he start crying. so you go back and calm it down. whats the big deal? this experiment has no ethical problems at all, its acually based on every day life of a normal baby. and if you evoide this, well... your baby wont really grow up so normally.

[sunderz16]

actually this isnt based on every day life of a baby, although these sequences are normal, all of them happening 1 after the other is extremely rare, therefore lacking ecological validity (real-world relevance )

[SoraQuasar]

Oh... that is also true...

[sueod628]

There are very important safeguards in place when this procedure is used in research. I can't speak for the video because I don't know the source, but reputable researchers who use the strange situation are very careful with the children. All institutions use Human Subjects committees to ensure the safety of the participants, and all of the psychological journals ensure that the studies that they publish have been conducted under the auspices of such an oversight group.

[Zimarooski]

@sueod628 so basically a group of people say it's okay to do, and the people that do it say that the group said it was okay to do?

[Azl0r]

The way the baby identifies safety with the mother is truly amazing

[DeadlyEpicBuzzMan]

Using this to study for my Developmental Psychology exam,thanks!And although it may be awful to see the baby crying, it is an important way of examining attachment and relationships, how else are we to know? Saying it is unethical is like saying its wrong to have a child crying when you're putting it to bed, babies cry, we're just finding out what upsets them

[87valeria87]

Don't be fool. The baby won't have any repercussion after this experience. Babies cry also when their parents don't change theri nappy or when they leave them at school. Are these traumatic experiences???

[thepinkspiders111]

not ver ethnical

[GoldenBoyNC]

That's definitely a discussion point but don't worry. These experiments face rigid analysis by psychological governing bodies and it is deemed safe and ethical, which by todays standards mean that the participants should not experience any psychological harm. Experiments like Zimbardo's, Milgram's and Harlow's studies are the ones that I've learnt about which have real ethical issues and probably wouldn't be allowed today.

[thepinkspiders111]

yes certainly zimbardo wouldnt be allowed today, but would the strange situation?

[GoldenBoyNC]

I'm only a A/S level Psychology so by no means am I an expert but there was a meta-analysis study on cultural variations of attachment. There were a huge amounts of studies among 8 or 9 different countries. I imagine if they wanted to do it today to see if the results are specific to time periods as well as culture, they would be allowed but it's a good point. Where is the line between ethical and unethical and how far can the boundaries be pushed in the modern day?

[thepinkspiders111]

yes the meta analysis of van den Dries,

van IJzendoorn, Marinus H. ans so on. well it is true that the BPS are constantly changeing the rules on ethics. however they are only guidlines so it doesnt restrict a psychologist from doing this study aniway, they would merely be booted out of the society. i was wondering if this study has been re- done today?.

[MinuteOrMinute]

yes. especially since the parent is only one room away. if the kids get too distressed to the point where the researchers (who have spent hundreds of hours observing kids, they know when too far is too far) know the kid's in hysterics and isn't just bawling for the sake of bawling, then it's obvious to them to let the parent back in.

[kiara282]

It is just like a babysitting experience, not very traumatic after the first few times