Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Strange Situation
Submitted by:
Carmela Arcilla, Margaret De Leon, and Aliki Siao
De La Salle University
Child Development
January 22, 2019
The purpose of this article was to highlight features of the ethological-revolutionary
behaviour and exploration, separation anxiety, and fear of strange situations. The article begins
by defining some key terms such as the word attachment. According to Bowlby and Ainsworth
(1964, 1967, 1969), attachment is an “affectional” tie (in the form of seeking to maintain or gain
physical contact or communication) that an individual has with himself or another person. In
crying, calling, and so forth. The article argues that attachment behaviours indicate a genetic bias
means for survival of species. Infants look to their mothers for protection and nurturance in this
period of meek defencelessness. In the same manner, exploratory behaviour is equally significant
such that infants interest in novel situations and features of the environment promote learning
and knowledge acquisition at the very young stage. The balance of both attachment and
exploratory behaviours essential in the development of an infant is has been widely explored in
Many studies have been conducted about the balance of attachment and exploration
behaviours of infants that make use of strange situations in contrived laboratory environments.
For this particular study, 56 infants raised by white middle-class parents were used as
participants to observe the extent to which mothers are used as a secure base from which the
infant could explore a strange environment. The results of the study revealed
The study revealed that in response to novelty, infants are more likely to approach and
explore new environments or stimuli when the infant’s mother is present. Infants are less likely
to exhibit fear and avoidance of novel stimuli as the presence of the mother serves as a secure
base from which to explore strange situations. In contrast, the absence of the mother heightens
feelings of fear, thus resulting to avoidance and withdrawing behaviours toward the unfamiliar.
More so, upon the subsequent return of the object of attachment after a period of prolonged
absence, attachment is not diminished and attachment behaviours are likely to re-emerge again
upon reunion. The same results have been observed in other field studies of both humans and
nonhuman subjects.
Although I am not a mother, this article has been relatable to me, especially in my line of
work. As an individual who regularly works with children ages 2 to 12, this article has been very
insightful for me as I strive to encourage and motivate children to learn new things every day.
This article supports the idea that having a supportive and nurturing environment is crucial in the
early years of a person to promote healthy discovery and acquisition of new information through
various stimuli around them. Through this article, I am more motivated to continue to serve as a
secure base from which children can explore his or her surroundings when their mother is not
around. As a teacher, my role is not only to teach children by telling stories and introducing new
words, but also to facilitate their own individual learning by reinforcing them to explore on their
own. By doing so, I hope to be able to aid in the healthy development of children in my own
little ways.