Topic Summaries

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

A-Level > Psychology > AQA > A-Level Psychology Topic Summaries > Attachment > Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
Previous Module
Next Module

Addiction

  • 👥 Ainsworth et al.(1978) developed the Strange Situation, a structured observation designed to assess the quality of attachment between infants and their caregivers.
  • The procedure involves seven episodes, including separations and reunions with the caregiver and the introduction of a stranger.
  • Infant behaviours were assessed in terms of: proximity seeking, exploration, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and reunion behaviour.
  • From this, Ainsworth identified three distinct types of attachment:
    • Secure attachment (about 60–75% of children) characterised by infants exploring freely but using the caregiver as a secure base, showing moderate separation and stranger anxiety, and being easily comforted upon reunion.
    • Insecure-avoidant attachment (around 20–25%) marked by a willingness to explore but little proximity-seeking, low separation, high stranger anxiety, and avoidance of the caregiver upon reunion.
    • Insecure-resistant attachment (about 3%) characterised by high levels of distress when separated, intense stranger anxiety, and ambivalent behaviour upon reunion, resisting comfort.
  • The Strange Situation has been praised for its predictive validity. Attachment type has been linked to later outcomes, such as secure children developing better friendships and emotional health, while insecure attachments predict difficulties (👥 McCarthy, 1999). It also demonstrates good inter-rater reliability, with 👥 Bick et al.(2012) reporting agreement among different observers of up to 94%.
  • However, the procedure has been criticised as culture-bound. 👥 Takahashi (1990) found that Japanese infants were often classified as insecure-resistant because they showed extreme separation anxiety, but this reflected cultural norms where separation from mothers is rare, not genuine insecurity. In addition, the Strange Situation measures attachment to one caregiver, usually the mother, and may not reflect the infant’s wider network of attachments.
  • Cultural variations:
    • 👥 Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) conducted a meta-analysis of 32 Strange Situation studies across eight countries. They found that secure attachment was the most common type in all cultures, supporting the claim that it is a universal norm. However, there were differences: in individualist cultures such as Germany, insecure-avoidant attachment was more common, while in collectivist cultures such as Japan, insecure-resistant attachment was more prevalent.
    • Interestingly, they also found that variation within cultures was 1.5 times greater than variation between cultures, suggesting that attachment styles differ significantly between subgroups (e.g.urban vs.rural; poor vs.wealthy) within the same culture.

Unlock Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

Subscribe to SnapRevise+ to get immediate access to the rest of this resource.

Premium accounts get immediate access to this resource.

Previous Module
Next Module