Main and Weston (1981)
Strange situations aim to measure the attachment type of a child.
However, perhaps it only measures the quality of attachment to one particular person.
They may behave differently with another parent.
Issue and debate: SS is reductionist as it enforces one attachment style on a child based on
one interaction alone.
Main and Solomon (1986)
Meta Analysis of over 200 Strange Situation clips
Suggested there was a fourth type of attachment: insecure diagnosed (type D)
These infants show a mixture of secure attachment followed by avoidant behaviour
This suggests that ainsworth’s original conclusion were too simplistic and do not account for
all attachment cases
Issue and debate: Main et al take a nomothetic approach as they aim to create more
attachment styles to apply an individual case.
The circle of security project found an increase in the number of infants classified as
securely attached after teaching caregivers to understand signals of distress.
Therefore, teaching caregivers to understand their infants can improve and change an
infant's attachment type. The application of research has been used to improve lives.
Takahashi (1990)
Takahashi (1990) found that Japanese mothers are rarely separated from infants in everyday
life, meaning the infants show high levels of separation anxiety in the SS.
This suggests that the test may not have the same meaning in countries outside of the west.
Therefore, the SS may incorrectly find that all Japanese children are insecurely attached,
because they are judged by a western measurement of attachment.
Issue and debate: The results of SS are culturally relative as the findings are only applicable
to the culture the study was carried out in. We cannot impose the findings of one culture to
another culture.
Strange situations aim to measure the attachment type of a child.
However, perhaps it only measures the quality of attachment to one particular person.
They may behave differently with another parent.
Issue and debate: SS is reductionist as it enforces one attachment style on a child based on
one interaction alone.
Main and Solomon (1986)
Meta Analysis of over 200 Strange Situation clips
Suggested there was a fourth type of attachment: insecure diagnosed (type D)
These infants show a mixture of secure attachment followed by avoidant behaviour
This suggests that ainsworth’s original conclusion were too simplistic and do not account for
all attachment cases
Issue and debate: Main et al take a nomothetic approach as they aim to create more
attachment styles to apply an individual case.
The circle of security project found an increase in the number of infants classified as
securely attached after teaching caregivers to understand signals of distress.
Therefore, teaching caregivers to understand their infants can improve and change an
infant's attachment type. The application of research has been used to improve lives.
Takahashi (1990)
Takahashi (1990) found that Japanese mothers are rarely separated from infants in everyday
life, meaning the infants show high levels of separation anxiety in the SS.
This suggests that the test may not have the same meaning in countries outside of the west.
Therefore, the SS may incorrectly find that all Japanese children are insecurely attached,
because they are judged by a western measurement of attachment.
Issue and debate: The results of SS are culturally relative as the findings are only applicable
to the culture the study was carried out in. We cannot impose the findings of one culture to
another culture.
