Strange Situation

an experimental technique used to assess quality of attachment in infants and young children (up to the age of 2). The procedure subjects the child to increasing amounts of stress induced by a strange setting, the entrance of an unfamiliar person, and two brief separations from the parent. The reaction of the child to each of these situations is used to evaluate the security or insecurity of his or her attachment to the parent. See insecure attachment; secure attachment. [devised in 1978 by Mary D. Salter Ainsworth]

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Psychology term of the day

December 23rd 2024

quasi– F ratio

in analysis of variance and regression analysis, a substitute for the F ratiof-ratio that can sometimes be obtained when the denominators for an exact F ratio cannot be completed. The quasi–F ratio is obtained by determining the mean squared error using certain estimated components of variation when these cannot be calculated directly.