The document discusses Ainsworth's identification of three main types of attachment: secure attachment, insecure-avoidant attachment, and insecure-resistant attachment. It then provides a case study describing the behaviors of two brothers, Rob and Sam, and asks the reader to identify the type of attachment each boy demonstrates. Rob is identified as having an insecure-resistant attachment as he cried and seemed scared around strangers, while Sam displayed a secure attachment by happily greeting his mother and being comfortable with other adults. The document evaluates the strengths of Ainsworth's Strange Situation experiment in reliably identifying attachment types, and also notes limitations, such as additional types of attachment identified by others and concerns about its cultural specificity.

1. Types of attachment
• Ainsworth identified 3 main types of
attachment:
• Secure attachment.
• Insecure-avoidant attachment.
• Insecure-resistant attachment.

2. Types of attachment
• You need to be able to describe each type of
attachment.
• You may also be asked to identify the type of
attachment from a description of behaviour.

3. Andrea has noticed that her two sons are quite different.
When she gets home from work the first thing Sam does
is to run to her and give her a great big hug, whilst she
has to go to find rob to make sure he is okay. When a
plumber came to the house the other day Sam was fine
with him, but Rob wouldn’t stop crying and appeared
scared.
(a) Identify:
(i) the type of attachment shown by Rob. (1 mark)
(II) The type of attachment shown by Sam. (1 mark)
(b) Explain how the type of attachment shown by each
child could be assessed.
(4 marks)

4. Evaluation: strengths
• The strange situation has been found to be reliable
and valid.
• Inter-rater reliability is very high.
• Two different observers give the same child the same
attachment type.
• This means we can be confident that it is able to
identify distinct patterns of attachment behaviour
that can be classified as secure, insecure-avoidant,
insecure-resistant.

5. Evaluation: strengths
• Research has also found that the strange
situation has good predictive validity.
• Attachment type is closely linked emotional
and psychological development and
psychological health as adults.

6. Evaluation: limitations
• Some psychologists have identified more than 3
attachment types.
• Main & Solomon (1986) have identified a
disorganised attachment type that is a mixture of
insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachment
types.
• This means that Ainsworth’s 3 attachment types do
not identify all attachment relationships.

7. Evaluation: limitations
• Kagen (1982) argues that the strange situation does
not measure attachment but the temperament of
the child.
• Temperament is the child’s basic personality.
• The strange situation measures the child’s basic
temperamental response to an unfamiliar situation
not the type of attachment they have to their
caregiver.

8. Evaluation: limitations
• The strange situation may be culture specific.
• The strange situation has been replicated in non-
western societies and the behaviour of children and
parents have been very different to western
societies.
• This makes it difficult to accurately assess the type of
attachment children have with their caregivers.