Ainsworth's Strange Situation and Cultural Variations

• Ainsworth's Strange Situation

  :( lacks ecological validity

  > takes place in a controlled environment (room with two-way mirror)

  > difficult to generalise findings to real-life attachment types as infant may behave differently e.g. uncomfortable in an unfamiliar environment

  > lowers the external validity
• Ainsworth's Strange Situation:

  :) high reliability

  > controlled environment (room with two-way mirror)

  > standardised procedure (every variable assessed for 3 minute intervals)

  > observation can be repeated in the same conditions to check for consistent results into types of attachments

  > this has been carried out successfully in different cultures
• Ainsworth's Strange Situation:

  :) RTS Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

  > replicated the Strange Situation in the USA and found consistent results to Ainsworth

  > 65% secure, 21% insecure-avoidant, 14% insecure-resistant

  > supports the Strange Situation as a way of assessing attachment types
• Cultural Variations:

  :) high population validity

  > meta-analysis of 32 Strange Situation studies, using a sample of 2000 infants

  > easier to generalise the findings to the rest of the target population

  > increases external validity
• Cultural Variations:

  :( culture bias

  > 18 out of 32 studies were carried out in the USA, and only 5 were carried out in collectivist cultures

  > difficult to generalise the findings across all cultures

  > lowers external validity
• Cultural Variations:

  :( Imposed Etic

  > based on American child-rearing practices, for example, a lack of separation anxiety indicates an insecure-avoidant attachment type - in Germany, this would be seen positively, as independence rather than avoidance

  > may not be appropriate to use the Strange Situation to measure attachment types across all cultures