Attachment Behaviors to a Female Stranger among Japanese Two-Year-Olds

Twenty-four Japanese to 24- 26-month-old children, having seldom been baby-sat, were observed in the revised Ainsworth's strange situation procedure. Observed were eight kinds of attachment behavior to mother and a female stranger. Children showed attachment behaviors to the stranger: in episode 3 (both mother and the stranger were present), all of them looked at the stranger, one-fourth of them approached and showed toys to her, and in episode 4 (only the stranger was present), about two-thirds of the Ss looked at her, one-half of them showed toys, and one-third of them approached her. However, there were qualitative differences between attachment behaviors to the stranger and those to mother: in episode 3, more children exhibited speaking, approaching, and showing, and in episodes 2 and 4 (only one of them was present), speaking, looking, showing, and approaching, to mother than to the stranger.