evaluation

• What is a strength

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  • The findings of Ainsworth's observations show good predictability for children's development
  • -Infants and toddlers assessed as securely attached tend to have better outcomes later in life (such as education and relationships) than children assessed as insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant
  • Securely attached infants tend to have better mental health than those of IA and IR
  • This suggests that the types of attachment developed by Ainsworth are backed by evidence and this shows high validity in this study
• What is another strength

  • The Strange Situation shows good inter-rater reliability
  • An agreement was found in the observations of attachment types in 94% of cases
  • This high level of agreement may be because the research was carried out in controlled conditions
  • Therefore, good inter-rater reliability gives confidence that the attachment types assessed by the Strange Situation are not subjective
• What is a weakness

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  • The research was only carried out on middle-class infants in Western Europe and the USA
  • The Strange Situation is therefore culture-bound: it was developed in the UK and the USA and may only apply to these cultures
• For example a Japanese researcher..

  -Takahashi studied 60 Japanese children in 1990 using the Strange Situation, and 90% of the experiments conducted had to be stopped because the infant became so distressed at separation. (insecure resistant). this shows the inaccuracy of Ainsworth's results when applied to other cultures

  -Therefore the research lacks population validity
• What is another weakness

  • The observation set up by Ainsworth lacks ecological validity due to demand characteristics
  • mothers may have behaved differently in the lab setting which may have impacted child's behaviour.
  • child may not be attached to mother but to a different attachment figure
• What is another weakness

  -A criticism is that Ainsworth suggested that an infant develops its attachment type due to caregiver sensitivity, claiming that securely attached infants had more sensitive mothers.

  -However, contrary to this, Kagan, proposed the temperament hypothesis (1984) that suggests that some infants are born with a greater need to attach due to their personality.

  -Therefore the 3 attachment types cannot explain all infant attachment