Scand. zyxwvutsr EDCBA J . Psychol., zyxwvut HGFEDC 1977,18, 43-52 zyxwvu FEDCB The behavior of young children in a strange situation zy TS LARS SMITH HARALD MARTINSEN Abstracr. The social behavior of young children was as- sessed in a strange situation which was to become increas- ingly more stressful. The strange-situation procedure re- ported by Ainsworth zyxwvuts & Wittig (1%9) was repeated as closely as possible. Children between I and 14 years were accompanied by their mothers or by a female stranger in various combinations, or were alone, according to a prear- ranged sequence. The data were subjected to a commonal- ity analysis (Masters & Wellman, 1974). Common changes in the frequencies of 20 behavior items were noted across the different episodes. The physicaldistance relationship between the child and its companion, the exploratory be- havior of the child, and individual differences among the children were analyzed in light of Bowlby’s attachment theory. The results gave some support to the findings reported by Ainsworth and her group, but also pointed to functional differences between the behavior items ex- amined. The results on crying were compared with those of Ainsworth & Wittig (1%9), showing a fair degree of agreement. Finally, the subjects were divided into groups according to an operationalization of the criteria given by Ainsworth et al. (1971). Of ten children, only three could unequivocally be placed in one of eight groups. This sug- gests that it may be difficult to use the group characteriza- tion proposed by Ainsworth et al. Some years ago, Ainsworth & Wittig (1%9) published an account of attachment and exploratory behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. The reportprovided the first description of a standard test procedure that Ainsworth and her co-workers have used as one part of a longitudinal study of the development of infant-mother attach- ment in the first year of life. In a number of more recent publications, individual differences in the strange-room situation have been related to the style of previousinfant-mother interaction as observed in the familiar home environment (Ains- worthet al., 1971, 1972; Stayton & Ainsworth, 1973). The contribution of Ainsworth’s group seems to be two-fold. First, these workers have shown that most year-old infants protest when left by mother in a strange situation, and that they explore less when University zy of Oslo, Norway left alone or with an adult stranger than they do when mother is present. Ainsworth has related these findings to the concept of “attachment” and to the notion that young children tend to use thei mothers as a “secure base for explorations”. Sec- ond, Ainsworth and her co-workers have pointed to individual differences in the behavior of one-year- olds in a strange situation. They have sought the origin of such differences in the social interactio that took place between infant and mother duri the child’s first year of life. The value of the contribution made by the Ains- worth group must be judged in light of the theory of infant attachment. This theory, as formulated b Bowlby (1%9), sees the relationship between infant and mother in biological perspective. Bowlby ha pointed out that activation of attachment behavio has a common consequence, i.e. proximity. If con- trol of the physical-distance relationship betwee the infant and its caregiver was important in man’ environment of evolutionary adaptedness, as a pro- tection from predators, then proximity-seeking b haviors may be said to have a biological function. Cohen (1974) has pointed out that the positive correlations found by Ainsworth et al. between the presence of mother and amount of exploration may be a methodological artifact. Moreover, Masters & Wellman (1974) have shown that the intercorrela- tions between various attachment behaviors tend t be few and unreliable. It is therefore unlikely tha such behaviors are related to some common unde lying factor. The notion of attachment as some trait or state seems equally dubious. Furthermore, there are individual differences in the display of vario attachment behaviors. Most young children tend to reduce the distance to their caregivers in an inse cure situation, but the strategy of proximity-seekin varies greatly. Individual differences in showing at tachment behaviors may thus be looked upon various ways in which infants secure proximity Scand. J . Psychol. 18