Types of attachment

• AO1 - what did Ainsworth do?

  Developed the strange situation; a controlled observation (with controlled conditions, a two-way mirror, and cameras) designed to measure the security of attachment a baby displays towards a caregiver.
• AO1 - what behaviours were used to judge attachment?

  • Proximity seeking: well attached babies stay close to caregiver
  • Exploration and secure base behaviour: good attachment makes a baby confident enough to explore and use caregiver for safety
  • Stranger and separation anxiety: displayed by well attached babies
  • Response to reunion with caregiver: well attached babies are enthusiastic
• AO1 - procedure episodes

  7 episodes lasting 3 minutes

  1. Baby encouraged to explore by caregiver
  2. Stranger enters, talks to caregiver then approaches baby
  3. Caregiver leaves
  4. Caregiver returns and stranger leaves
  5. Caregiver leaves baby alone
  6. Stranger returns
  7. Caregiver returns
• AO1 - type A attachment

  • Insecure avoidant attachment
  • 20-25% of British babies
  • Babies explore freely but doesn’t seek proximity to caregiver (no secure base)
  • No signs of separation or stranger anxiety
  • Avoid contact at reunion stage
• AO1 - type B attachment

  • Secure attachment
  • 60-75% of British babies
  • Happy to explore but seeks proximity to caregiver for secure base
  • Moderate separation and stranger anxiety
  • Requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion
• AO1 - type C attachment

  • Insecure resistant attachment
  • 3% of British babies
  • Explore less and seeks greater proximity
  • High levels of stranger and separation anxiety
  • At reunion they resist comfort
• AO3 - ✔️good predictive validity


  • Research has shown type B attached babies tend to do better at school, less involvement in bullying, better mental health in adulthood.
  • Type C attached babies are associated with the worst outcomes; bullying and mental health problems in adulthood.
  • Suggests the strange situation measures something real and meaningful in a baby development.
• AO3 - counterpoint; good predictive validity 


  • Although the strange situation measures something important that is associated with later development, a researcher suggested that genetic differences in anxiety was also measured and could account for differences in attachment behaviour.
  • Means the strange situation may not actually measure attachment.
• AO3 - ✔️good inter-rater reliability 


  • Psychologists tested inter-rater reliability by different observers watching the same babies and found that 94% agreed on the attachment type.
  • Could be because the procedure takes place under controlled conditions and behaviours involve large movement so are easy to observe.
  • E.g. anxious babies cry and crawl away from strangers.
  • Means we can be confident that attachment type assessed by the strange situation doesn’t depend on who is observing.
• AO3 -✖️may be a culture bound test


  • Strange situation was developed in Britain and US so may not have the same meaning outside those countries.
  • In a Japanese study, babies displayed very high levels of separation anxiety, so were classified as insecure resistant.
  • However, it was suggested that this was due to not being used to being left by the caregiver rather than attachment insecurity.
  • Means its very difficult to know what the strange situation is measuring when being used outside Britain and the US.