Types of attachment

• Ainsworth and Bell (1970) developed the Strange Situation as a method to assess the quality of a baby's attachment to a caregiver. It is a controlled observation procedure in a lab with a two-way mirror through which psychologists can observe a baby's behaviour.
• Five categories are used to judge attachment quality:

  1. Proximity-seeking = well-attached babies stay close to caregiver.
  2. Exploration and secure-base behaviour = good attachment makes a baby confident to explore, using the caregiver as point of safety.
  3. Stranger anxiety = displayed by well-attached babies.
  4. Separation anxiety = displayed by well-attached babies.
  5. Response to reunion with the caregiver after separation for a short period of time = well-attached babies are enthusiastic.
• The procedure has seven 'episodes', each lasting three minutes:

  1. Baby is encouraged to explore by caregiver.
  2. Stranger enters and talks to caregiver, approaches baby.
  3. Caregiver leaves.
  4. Caregiver returns, stranger leaves.
  5. Caregiver leaves baby alone.
  6. Stranger returns.
  7. Caregiver returns.
• Ainsworth and Bell found distinct patterns in the way babies behaved. They identified three main types of attachment.
• Secure attachment (Type B: 60-75% of British toddlers):

  • Baby happy to explore but seeks proximity to caregiver (secure base).
  • Shows moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.
  • Requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion.
• Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A: 20-25% of British toddlers):

  • Baby explores freely but does not seek proximity (no secure base).
  • Shows little/no separation and stranger anxiety.
  • Avoids contact at the reunion stage.
• Insecure-resistant attachment (Type C: 3% of British toddlers):

  • Baby explores less and seeks greater proximity.
  • Shows considerable stranger and separation anxiety.
  • Resists comfort when reunited with caregiver.
• AO3 -The Strange Situation has good predictive validity:


  Attachment type predicts later development. For example, secure babies typically have greater success at school. In contrast, insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes, eg. bullying and adult mental health problems. This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain future outcomes.
• AO3 - Good inter-rater reliability:


  Different observers watching the same babies generally agree on attachment type. Bick et al. (2012) found 94% agreement in one team. This mat be because the Strange Situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe. This means that we can be confident that the attachment type of a baby identified in the Strange Situation does not just depend on who is observing them.
• AO3 - Culture-bound test:

  The Strange Situation test might not have the same meaning in countries outside Europe and the US where it was created. Cultural differences in children's experiences mean they respond differently, eg. Japanese babies show anxiety because they are not used to being left by caregiver. This means it is difficult to know what the Strange Situation is measuring in some countries/cultures.
• AO3 - Lacks ecological validity:


  It was conducted in a lab setting, so all the variables were highly controlled. Despite the strict control over confounding and extraneous variables, this is not representative of real life so it lacks mundane realism and cannot be generalised to reality.