Mary Ainsworth & John Bowlby

Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist perhaps
best known for her

Strange Situation assessment and
contributions to the area of attachment theory.

In a 2002 review ranking the most eminent psychologists of
the twentieth century, Ainsworth was listed as the 97th most
influential psychologist, based on the frequency of journal
citation, introductory psychology textbook citation, and survey
response.

According to Ainsworth, the way the child behaves during the
separation and upon the mother's return can reveal important
information about

attachement.

Ainsworth is famous for her Strange Situation Experiment she
created in the 1960’s

The Attachment Theory was originally proposed by

John Bowlby in the
1950s. Influenced by Sigmund Freud’s views of development and love,
Bowlby believed that early childhood experiences played an essential
role in the development of personality and behavior.

According to the theory, attachment is an affectional tie an infant forms
with their parent.

The hallmark proximity-seeking behavior of attachment is…

that the child
would seek contact and maintain proximity with the attachment figure.

They both believed that….

if you don’t gain that love you will get very needy or will learn to be completely independent and isolated. These are the two extremes.

Some of the earliest behavioral theories suggested that
attachment was simply

a learned behavior.

These theories proposed that attachment was merely the result of the feeding
relationship between the child and the caregiver. Because the caregiver feeds the child and provides nourishment, the child becomes attached.

Bowlby, however, observed that feedings did not…

diminish separation anxiety.

Instead, he found that attachment was characterized by clear behavioral
and motivation patterns.

When children are frightened, they seek proximity from their primary
caregiver in order to receive both comfort and care.

(if mom feeds the baby but dad runs everytime baby cries, the baby will be attached to the dad)

Bowlby believed that attachment was an…

enduring emotional connection between human beings.

He also believed that
evolutionary factors influenced attachment. Attachment, he
believed, played a critical role in survival. By keeping children
close to their caregivers, their caregivers are better able to
respond to their needs, thus improving children’s chances of
survival.

Bowlby had a significant impact in developmental psychology, which
supports that an infant’s

behavior in relation to exploration, separation anxiety, stress, and fear of unfamiliarity can predict the child’s attachment style.

These attachment behaviors include proximity-seeking behaviors (such
as approaching, following, and clinging) and signaling behavior (such as
smiling, crying, and calling).

To examine these patterns of attachment behavior, Ainsworth designed a
method carried out in an unfamiliar context

The Strange Situation Experiment is a

standardized laboratory procedure created to identify differences in infant attachment.

It measures how a child responds to separations and reunions with the
parent to assess the early security of attachment depicted in the
Attachment Theory.

Children between the ages of 12 and 18 months were briefly left alone
in a room while the researchers observed their reactions. They were
observed when the parent and child were together, when a stranger
entered the room, when the parent briefly left the room, and when the
parent returned

In the Strange Situation procedure, a baby is observed in a room with
furniture and toys

At one end of the experimental room is a child’s chair heaped with and
surrounded by toys.

Near the other end of the room, on one side, is a chair for the parent or
primary caregiver, and on the opposite side near the door, a chair for the
stranger.

Researchers observe the mother-infant interactions in an adjoining room
through a one-way mirror.

Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory test comprises eight strange
situation episodes in the following order (mothers were used in the
original experiments)

Episode 1: Mother and baby are introduced to the room.

Episode 2: Mother and baby are alone. The child explores the room
freely.

Episode 3: Stranger enters the room, talks with the mother, approaches
the child, and tries to interact with the child. Mother exits the room after
3 minutes.

Episode 4 (First separation): Stranger remains in the room and interacts
with the child when needed.

Episode 5 (First reunion): Mother re-enters and greets the child in the
doorway. Stranger exits.

Episode 6 (Second separation): Mother leaves again. Baby is alone for 3
minutes.

Episode 7: Stranger re-enters and remains in the room and interacts with
the child when needed.

Episode 8 (Second reunion): Mother returns and stranger leaves

An infant’s action was scored based on the following five types of
behavior toward the adults.

• proximity-seeking behavior

• proximity-avoiding behaviors

• contact maintaining behaviors

• contact resisting behaviors

• Search behavior

Proximity-seeking behaviors include

active behaviors such as greeting, approaching, clambering up, reaching, or leaning. Vocal signals such as crying in the adult’s direction are also proximity-seeking

Proximity-avoiding behaviors usually apply when

an adult enters the room or tries to engage the child. They include ignoring, looking away, turning away, and moving away from the adult.

Contact Maintaining behaviors, after the baby has

gained contact with the mother, they may show contact-maintaining tendencies.
These behaviors include clinging, embracing, clutching, holding on, and
resisting release.

If they lose contact, they turn back and reach, and protest vocally.

Contact-resisting behaviors include

angry, ambivalent attempts to push away, hit, or kick the mother who tries to make contact. The child may squirm to get down when they’re picked up. They push or throw away toys when the mother tries to interfere with the playing.
Some babies may even scream angrily, throw themselves down, or kick
the floor to protest.

Search behavior was evaluated based on the child’s

reaction to the mother’s departure.

These actions include following the mother to the door, trying to open
the door, banging on it, remaining oriented to the door, glancing at it,
going to the mother’s empty chair, or simply looking at it.

Other behavior (additional) was observed for the following responses
and interactions:

• Exploratory (Episodes 2-7)
How much does the child explore with or without the mother’s
presence?

• Stranger anxiety (Episodes 3, 4, 7)
Does the child seek/avoid or maintain contact with the stranger?

Attachment Theory

Based on her observations and research, Ainsworth orginally concluded
that there were three main styles of attachment and later the fourth was
added:

• Secure attachment style
• Anxious/Ambivalent attachment style
• Avoidant attachment style
• Fearful/Avoidant (Disorganized attachment) attachment style

Secure attachment:

Children who are securely attached generally become visibly upset
when their caregivers leave and are happy when their parents return.
When frightened, these children will seek comfort from the parent or
caregiver.

Securely attached children readily accept contact initiated by a parent,
and they greet the parent's return with positive behavior. While these
children can be comforted to some extent by other people in the absence
of a parent or caregiver, they clearly prefer parents to strangers.

Ambivalent Attachement:

Children who are ambivalently attached tend to be extremely suspicious
of strangers. These children display considerable distress when
separated from a parent or caregiver but do not seem reassured or
comforted by the parent's return.

In some cases, the child might passively reject the parent by refusing
comfort or may openly display direct aggression toward the parent.

ambivalent=cant make up ur mind

Avoidant Attachement:

Children with avoidant attachment styles tend to avoid parents and
caregivers. This avoidance often becomes especially pronounced after a
period of absence.

These children might not reject attention from a parent, but neither do
they seek out comfort or contact. Children with an avoidant attachment
show no preference between a parent and a complete stranger.

Disorganized attachement:

Children with a disorganized-insecure attachment style show a lack of
clear attachment behavior. Their actions and responses to caregivers are
often a mix of behaviors, including avoidance or resistance.

These children are described as displaying dazed behavior, sometimes
seeming either confused or apprehensive in the presence of a caregiver.

Some of the factors that are thought to contribute to the development of
these patterns of attachment include:

• Consistency: Parents who are consistent in caregiving are more likely
to raise securely attached children. Inconsistency is linked to an
anxious/ambivalent attachment style.
• Responsiveness: Secure attachment develops when parents respond to
their children’s needs. Poor responsiveness is often linked to avoidant
attachment. Children who believe their parents won’t respond to their
needs avoid turning to them for support and care.
• Neglect and abuse: Parents who are neglectful or abusive are linked to
fearful/avoidant attachment. These parents are often inconsistent in
how they respond to their kids. Sometimes they provide comfort and
care, but other times they act as a source of fear, anxiety, and trauma.
This confusion contributes to a disorganized mix of attachment
behaviors.

Ainsworth's work also inspired a great deal of research on the impact
these early attachment styles continue to have throughout life.

While these styles change with time and experience, researchers believe
that childhood attachment styles influence adult romantic attachments.
Adults with a secure romantic attachment style tend to have lasting
relationships and believe love is enduring. Those with an insecure
romantic attachment style believe that love is more temporary.