AO3: STRANGE SITUATION

• Inter-rater reliability

  A strength of Aisnworth's strange situation is that it has high levels of inter-rater reliability. As Bick observed inter-rater reliability amongst the team of strange-situation observers, finding a 94% agreement rate of attachment types. This therefore suggests Ainsworth's ss to be reliable due to the overall consistency within opinions and agreement, this therefore proposes Ainsworth's strange situation to be a reliable method of assessing attachment types.
• Oversimplified attachment types

  A limitiation of Ainsworth's research into the SS is that it is suggested to be an oversimplified view of attachment types. As Main and Solomon adopted a fourth type of attachment known as the disorganised attachment. This attachment type consisted of a mix of both resistant (type c) and avoidant (type a) behaviours. Thus, the introduction of a fouth attachment which was not proposed by Ainsworth reduces the reliability of her findings as there is not consistency across research of the different attachment types.
• Ainsworth's strange situation was found to have a number of ethical issues
• Ethical issues with Ainsworth's strange situation

  • Deliberate harm and distress that infants had to endure during both stranger and separation anxiety
  • Psychological distress and harm placed onto mothers in hearing their infant experiencing anxiety or distress
• Ainsworth argued that the infants' distress was justified as it is expected during a brief separation from their mother
• Ainsworth failed to address the psychological distress and harm placed onto mothers
• Ainsworth's research is less likely to be used as it breaches the British Psychological Society's code of conduct
• The lack of counselling and support offered to mothers following the observation compounded the ethical issues