Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

*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 attachment

• 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

*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

*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 exists 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 exists

  • 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 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: after the baby has gained contact with the mother, they may show contact maintaining tendencies

• These behaviors including 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've 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

Seach 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 originally 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 attachment (Disorganized 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 Attachment:

• 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

Avoidant Attachment:

• 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 Attachment:

• Children with a disorganized-insecure attachment style show a lack or 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

Someone 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 need

  • 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, research 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

*Mary Ainsworth was a significant figure in the field of development of the strange situation assessment helped psychologists further explore the importance of early childhood attachments in child development

• Her work also inspired further exploration of how early relationships continue to shape interpersonal attachments throughout life