Skip to main content

Strange Situation Test

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Strange Situation Procedure.

Definition

The Strange Situation (Ainsworth et al. 1978) is a standardized observational procedure to assess infant-caregiver attachment relationship in infancy, developed according to Bowlby’s attachment theory (Bowlby 1968, 1973, 1980).

Introduction

The most significant contribution of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation method relies on the recognition of the importance of individual differences in attachment relationships since early infancy. Individual differences in attachment show a considerable predictive capacity for later developmental outcomes, also in adulthood (Weinfield et al. 2008): specifically, early caregiver-infant attachment bonds provide the prototype for future close relationships. Thus, research on attachment in adulthood has largely examined the issue of individual differences as well, focusing on different organization of attachment behaviors and on expectations on relationships (Crowell et al. 2008). It is important to note...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and Anger. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowell, J. A., Fraley, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (2008). Measurement of individual differences in adolescent and adult attachment. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 78–101). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Wolff, M. S., & van IJzendoorn, M. (1997). Sensitivity and attachment: A meta-analysis on parental antecedents of infant attachment. Child Development, 68(4), 571–591.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, M. E., Thompson, R. A., Gardner, W. P., Charnov, E. L., & Estes, D. (1984). Security of infantile attachment as assessed in the “strange situation”: Its study and biological interpretation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7(01), 127–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Main, M., & Solomon, J. (1986). Discovery of a new, insecure disorganized/disoriented attachment pattern. In T. B. Brazelton & M. Yogman (Eds.), Affective Development in infancy (pp. 95–124). Norwood: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simonelli A., Moretti M., Penta P., Maffeis E. (2012). 1978-2008 Trent’anni di Strange Situation. Comportamenti interattivi e pattern di attaccamento: una verifica del modello di Ainsworth. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, 3, 619-642.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, J., & George, C. (2016). The measurement of attachment security and related constructs in infancy and early childhood. In J. Cassidy, & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (3rd ed., pp. 366-396). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • van IJzendoorn, M. H., Goldberg, S., Kroonenberg, P. M., & Frenkel, O. J. (1992). The relative effects of maternal and child problems on the quality of attachment: A meta-analysis of attachment in clinical samples. Child development, 63(4), 840–858.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van IJzendoorn, M. H., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2008). Cross-cultural pattern of attachment: Universal and contextual dimensions. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 880–905). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, B. E., & Waters, E. (1990). Attachment behavior at home and in the laboratory: Q-sort observations and strange situation classifications of one-year-olds. Child Development, 61(6), 1965–1973.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weinfield, N. S., Sroufe, A. L., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E. (2008). Individual differences in attachment. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed., pp. 78–101). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Simonelli, A., Parolin, M. (2016). Strange Situation Test. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2043-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2043-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics