Types of attachment:

• STRENGTH:

  • research predicts numerous aspects of babies later development
  • those who are assessed as secure (type B) tend to have better childhoods and adulthood
  • childhood= less involvement in bullying and higher achievements McCormick 2016
  • adulthood= better mental health Ward 2006
  • Those who full into neither category of A, B or C tend to have the worst outcomes
  • shows it measures something meaningful in baby's development
• LIMITATION:

  • Strange Situation clearly measures something important in childs later development
  • However, not all psychologists believe this something is attachment
  • For example, Kagan (1982) suggested that genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour in the Strange Situation and later development

  This means that the Strange Situation may not actually measure attachment
• STRENGTH:

  • good inter-rater reliability
  • Bick et al 2012 tested inter-rater reliability using a team of trained observers and found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
  • High level of reliability may be because the procedure takes place under controlled conditions and because behaviours such as stranger anxiety involve large movements and are therefore easy to observe
  • For example anxious babies cry and crawl away from strangers.

  This means that we can be confident that attachment type as assessed by the Strange Situation does not depend on subjective judgements