Evaluation

• Good predictive validity


  One strength of the Strange Situation is that its outcome can predict babies' later development:

  • Research shows that secure babies tend to have better outcomes than others in later childhood and adulthood
  • e.g. better grades and less involvement in bullying (McCormick et al., Kokkinos)
  • They also tend to have better mental health in adulthood (Ward et al)
  • Insecure-resistant babies and babies that don't fall into any category tend to have the worst outcomes
  • This suggests that the Strange Situation measures something real and meaningful in a baby's development
• Counterpoint to good predictive validity

  The Strange Situation clearly measures something important that is associated with later development. However, not all psychologists believe this something is attachment. For example, Jerome Kagan 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.
• Good reliability


  A strength of the Strange Attachment is good inter-observer reliability:

  • Bick et al. tested inter-observer reliability and found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
  • This high level may be because the procedure takes place in controlled conditions and behaviours involve large movements and are therefore easy to observe
  • E.g. 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
• Culture-bound test (emic approach)


  One limitation of the Strange Situation is that it may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts:

  • The Strange Situation was developed in Britain and the US
  • Babies have different experiences in different cultures which may affect their responses
  • E.g. Japanese Keiko Takahashi - babies displayed high levels of separation anxiety and a disproportionate number were classified as insecure-resistant
  • Takahashi says that this was due rather to the unusual nature of the experience in Japan, where mother-baby separation is very rare