the strange situation and types of attachment evaluation Flashcards
(p) one strength is that the strange situation has good inter-observer reliability
(e)
● different observers watching the same babies generally agree on attachment type
● bick et al found 94% of agreement in 1 team
● this may because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions
● and because the behavioural categories, such as stranger anxiety are easy to observe
(c)
● this is a strength as we can establish the findings were consistent
● therefore, we can be confident that the attachment type identified does not have any observer bias and is reliable
(p) a further strength is the strange situation has good predictive validity
(e)
● attachment type predicts later development
● for example, secure babies typically have greater success at school
● whereas insecure-resistant attachment is associated with more negative outcomes
● e.g bullying and adult mental health problems
(c)
● this is a strength as the findings can be applied to real life in the long term to improve children’s experiences in the future
● e.g. identify vulnerable children based on their attachment type in the strange situation to offer help
(counter)
● however, it could be argued that the strange situation actually measures genetic differences in anxiety
● rather than attachment
● and this is what predicts later development instead
(p) one limitation is that the strange situation may be a culture-bound test
(e)
● research is found that the experiment did not work in japan
● as japanese mothers are rarely, if ever, separated from their children for at least the first year
● these children showed much higher levels of separation anxiety resulting in recording higher levels of insecure resistant children
● however, the strange situation fails to take into account this could be down to the fact the children are raised in a different way
(c)
● this means that it is difficult to know what the strange situation is measuring in some countries / cultures
(p) a further weakness is that there may be a fourth attachment type not assessed by the strange situation
(e)
● main and solomon identified a fourth category of attachment - disorganised
● this is considered a mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours
● these babies are unusual and generally experienced some form of severe neglect or abuse, associated with later psychological disorders
(c)
● this matters because ainsworth’s classification is only adequate as a description of normal variations in attachment, rather than more extreme cases
evaluate the procedure of the strange situation
limitations
● unethical (puts children under stress - not protecting from harm)
● lacks ecological validity (artificial environment - not done in infants own home, so may not represent attachment in real life)
● potential for observer bias (only seeing what you want / expect to see)
● parents could show demand characteristics (act differently because they are being observed e.g. more engaged with their child when playing)
strengths
● high control (controlled observation) - high internal validity
● babies don’t care that they are being observed (no demand characteristics)
