ainsworth's strange situation AO3

• A strength of the Strange Situation observational method is that it shows very good inter-rater reliability.


  • When different observers watch the same children in the Strange Situation, they generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with. This may be because the Strange Situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe.
  • Research has found agreement on attachment type for 94% of tested babies in a team of trained observers.
• What does the good inter-rater reliability suggest about the Strange Situation?

  This means that we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the Strange Situation does not just depend on who is observing them. Therefore, we can be more confident about the distinction between the attachment types.
• A strength of the research into attachment types is that, in situations where disordered patterns of attachment develop between infant and caregiver, intervention strategies can be developed.


  • For example, teaching caregivers to better understand their infants’ signals of distress.
  • It has been found that there was a decrease in caregivers classified as disordered (60% to 15%) and an increase in infants classified as securely attached (32% to 40%).
• What implication does teaching caregivers to better understand their infants’ signals of distress have?

  Consequently, research into the attachment types can be used to improve children’s lives, which is a real strength.
• A problem with the Strange Situation method is that it may be a culture-bound test.


  • This is because cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the Strange Situation.
  • Takahashi (1990) noted that the test doesn’t really work in Japan, because Japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their babies meaning that there are very high levels of separation anxiety in most.
• What implication does the Strange Situation being culture bound have?

  This means that if the Strange Situation test is used in other cultures, infants may be inappropriately classified as insecurely attached based upon cultural differences in childrearing rather than because they are genuinely insecurely attached.
• Research supports that attachment type, as defined by the Strange Situation, is strongly predictive of later development. 


  • Babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood.
  • Insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes, including bullying in later childhood and adult mental health problems.
• What implication does the Strange Situation being predictive of later development have?

  This supports the distinction between the different attachment types as they can explain subsequent outcomes.