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WorksheetsAinsworth's Strange Situation Quiz
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 10mins
What was the main aim of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation?
To measure the effects of maternal deprivation
To assess caregiver sensitivity
To identify types of attachment
To study obedience in infants
How old were the infants typically tested in the Strange Situation?
6–9 months
9–18 months
18–24 months
2–3 years
Which behaviour is most characteristic of a securely attached infant?
Avoids caregiver on reunion
Shows no distress on separation
Excessive exploration without caregiver reference
Seeks comfort on reunion
Which attachment type is associated with high stranger anxiety and resistance to comfort?
Secure
Insecure‑avoidant
Insecure‑resistant
Disorganised
Which of the following behaviours was NOT measured in the Strange Situation?
Separation anxiety
Stranger anxiety
Reunion behaviour
Cognitive development
In Ainsworth’s original study, which attachment type was most common in the USA?
Secure
Insecure‑avoidant
Insecure‑resistant
Disorganised
Insecure‑avoidant infants typically show which behaviour on reunion with the caregiver?
Intense distress
Strong need for physical contact
Indifference or avoidance
Confusion and fear
Why is the Strange Situation said to have high reliability?
It uses infants from different cultures
Behavioural categories are clearly operationalised
It measures attachment over time
It uses self‑report data
Which finding supports the predictive validity of attachment types?
Attachment types change frequently
Infant stress responses are temporary
Secure attachment predicts better later relationships
All attachment types are biologically determined
A key criticism of the Strange Situation is that it may be culture‑bound. What does this mean?
It causes distress to infants
It cannot be replicated
It ignores biological explanations
It reflects Western child‑rearing norms
Which attachment type shows low separation anxiety and low stranger anxiety?
Secure
Insecure‑avoidant
Insecure‑resistant
Disorganised
Why might the Strange Situation lack ecological validity?
It uses a small sample
It relies on parental self‑report
It takes place in an unfamiliar laboratory setting
It measures too many variables at once
What was the sample used in Ainsworth’s original Strange Situation study?
British middle‑class infants
German infants
Israeli kibbutz children
American infants
Which behaviour best distinguishes insecure‑resistant from insecure‑avoidant attachment?
Distress on separation
Level of exploration
Reaction to reunion
Response to the stranger entering
One limitation of Ainsworth’s classification system is that it:
Explains attachment formation fully
Measures caregiver sensitivity directly
Is difficult to standardise
Describes categories but does not explain causes
Which feature of the Strange Situation reduces observer bias?
Use of naturalistic observation
Repetition over several months
Standardised procedure and criteria
Interviews with parents
What does the term ‘stranger anxiety’ refer to in the Strange Situation?
Fear shown during separation
Distress shown when a stranger enters
Anxiety during reunion
Anxiety shown during exploration
Why might some infants be misclassified as insecure in the Strange Situation?
Because attachment styles are genetic
Because they are too young to form attachments
Because behaviours may reflect temperament
Because the study lacks reliability
Why is the Strange Situation considered a controlled observation?
Observations are covert
Participants are unaware they are being studied
Behaviour is unstructured
Conditions are standardised for all participants
Which attachment type is characterised by high distress, low exploration, and ambivalence on reunion?
Insecure‑resistant
Secure
Insecure‑avoidant
Disorganised
