The strange situation has support for predictivevalidity
Babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. Insecure- resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes including bullying in later childhood (Kokkinos 2007) and adult mental health problems (Ward et al. 2006).
The strange situation shows very good inter-rater reliability
Since it is a controlledobservation, the conditions are also controlled. This allows for the method to be standardised. In addition, behavioural categories are easy to observe. Bick et al. found agreement on attachment type for 94% of tested babies with on research team
The study lacks ecologicalvalidity
Conducted in a lab setting therefore it is not representative of real life and lacks mundane realism. Babies may respond differently to a stranger in their own home where they are more comfortable. Therefore, findings can’t be generalised
The test may be culture bound
It does not have the same meaning in countries outside Western Europe and USA. This is for two reasons. First, cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the Strange Situation. Second, caregivers from different cultures behave differently in the Strange Situation. For example, babies in Japan are rarely separated from mothers, so show very high levels of separation anxiety
