Mary ainsworth s pioneering work has changed conceptions of infantmother relationships, and by extension, conceptions of human relationships more generally. Bowlby struggled on in the british psychoanalytical society through the 1940s and 1950s, convinced he had a contribution to. Mary ainsworth s 1971, 1978 observational study of individual differences in attachment is described below. Developed by the british psychologist john bowlby, the theory focused on the. Attachment theory according to john bowlby and mary ainsworth. This piece tackled attachment theory, a theory developed by john bowlby in the 1950s and expanded upon by mary ainsworth and countless other researchers in later years. This all started with a fascinating experiment done in the 1960s by john bowlby and mary ainsworth. As john bowlbys major collaborator in the development of attachment theory, she is commonly credited with providing supporting empirical evidence for the theory.
Research into the mary ainsworth attachment theory in 1990 would produce a fourth attachment style. In her 1970s research, psychologist mary ainsworth expanded greatly upon bowlbys original work. Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary, and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans. Attachment, according to ainsworth 1963 is a secure base from which to explore, and this idea has since remained a fundamental principle of attachment theory. It is also important to allow the child to deal with negative emotions in the future. Attachment s continuing significance and insures its availability to new genera tions of students, researchers, and clinicians. The life of psychologist mary ainsworth exploring your mind. Attachment theory is a way of conceptualizing the propensity of human beings to make strong affectional bonds to particular others and the many forms of emotional distress and disturbance, which include anxiety, anger, and depression, to which unwilling separation and loss give rise. Additionally, this research helped to document the detrimental impact upon childrenos development resulting from parental separa. Megan white tiffany mcneish nikki devante jem rogich 2. Mary ainsworth 19 1999 was a developmental psychologist who became known for her work concerning early emotional attachment of babies to their primary caregivers. Mary ainsworth went against this body of research because she believed that attachments were formed through a process that was much more complex than previously discussed. Strange situation procedure the security of attachment in one to twoyearolds were investigated using the strange situation paradigm, in order to determine the nature of attachment behaviors and styles of attachment.
Ainsworth contributed the concept of the attachment figure as a secure base from which an infant can explore the world. Attachment theory for infants and toddlers, the setgoal of the attachment behavioural system is to maintain or achieve proximity to attachment figures, usually the parents. At first, they created this theory only considering children. Attachment theory is based on bowlbys work on the connections between maternal loss or deprivation and personality development and on ainsworth s interest in security theory. Indeed, one of the primary paradigms in attachment theory is that of the security of an individuals attachment. The strange situation is a semistructured laboratory procedure that allows us to identify, without lengthy home observation, infants who effectively use a primary caregiver as a secure base. The bowlby ainsworth attachment theory volume 1 issue 3 mary d. Attachment theory, separation anxiety, and mourning ipi.
In his studies he proposed that attachment came from the knowledge that infants needed. Karin participated in the first workshop by mary main on the adult attachment interview in charlottesville in 1985. Attachment theory draws on the work of john bowlby and mary ainsworth. Salter ainsworth skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Why mary ainsworth is important in child psychology. The mary ainsworth attachment theory focuses on providing an explanation as to why there are individual differences in attachment.
After carrying out studies with children institutionalized for theft, and also those separated from their mothers at an early age, the psychiatrist. Photo of mary ainsworth courtesy of the ferdinand hamburg. John bowlby was the original founder of attachment theory this began after world war ii where he found many children became orphans at a very young age and concluded that attachment was crucial for development miler, 2011. John bowlby british developmental psychologist and. Mary ainsworth, initially conducted research into attachment theory with bowlby, and later on her own.
Attachment theory is a psychological model describing the stages of attachment. This ability to form a healthy attachment given the infant a sense of security and emotional stability. Mary ainsworths role in the study of attachment john. Using attachment theory in the classroom worksheet and pdf because of its importance to child development, attachment theory has major implications for the classroom. Attachment theory and research page 1 key messages topic 2. One of bowlbys coworkers at the clinic was mary salter ainsworth, a canadian american developmental psychologist who explored and expanded attachment theory through her research. Three main attachment styles came from these observations. Key messages key messages children need a relationship with a caregiver who is sensitive and responsive, who comforts the child when distressed and enables them to feel safe enough to relax, play and learn. Abstract attachment theory is based on the joint work of john bowlby 19071991 and mary salter ainsworth 19. Bowlby 19691982 subsequently described attachment as a unique relationship between an infant and his caregiver that is the foundation for further healthy development. The hallmark of infant attachment is using one or a few people as a secure base from which to explore and as a haven of safety when needed. Mary ainsworth validated measures of attachment through her strange situation laboratory and created the attachment styles. Born december 19 died in the year 1999 worked with john bowlby at tavistock clinic in england where she began her research of maternalinfant attachments known for her development of the strange situation assessment used to observe child attachment identified that three main.
Mary ainsworth strange situation explained attachment styles. Babies and toddlers cant use words to tell us how they feel so mary ainsworth needed to find a way to allow them to show her. Mary ainsworth attachment styles simply psychology. Main used the adult attachment interview aai to study the infants adult parents. Working on separation at the tavistock clinic with bowlby and robertson. Mary ainsworth was an americancanadian psychologist who, along with john bowlby, developed one of the greatest and most helpful psychological theories on early social development. John bowlby originated attachment theory to explain how these bonds form between an infant and a caregiver, and mary ainsworth later expanded on his ideas. Although bowlbys and ainsworth s collaboration began in 1950, it entered its. Psychologist mary ainsworth devised an assessment technique called the strange situation. Mary ainsworths innovative methodology not only made it possible to test some of bowlbys ideas empirically hut also helped expand the theory itself and is. Developmental psychologist mary ainsworth was a major figure in the field of attachment theory.
She expanded the theory to include three styles of attachment with a fourth being added later. Mary ainsworth s strange situation is a developmental psychology study that investigates the patterns of attachment in infants one to two years old. Attachment theory is based on the joint work of john bowlby 19071991 and mary salter ainsworth 19. The most important tenet of attachment theory is that. The strange situation was a testing procedure created by mary ainsworth et al. John bowlby and mary ainsworth inge bretherton department of child and family studies university of wisconsinmadison attachment theory is based on the joint work of john bowlby 19071991 and mary salter ainsworth 19. These are the quiet blockbuster results of two extended, linked studies. Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans. Mary ainsworth was always eager, very fast, and excellent in learning all the newly devised assessments of patterns of attachment at preschool age, six years or based on the adult attachment interview. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Components of attachment when the child feels threatened or. Attachment theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Why mary ainsworth is important in child psychology verywell mind. Ainsworth elaborated on bowlbys research on attachment and developed an approach to observing a childs attachment to a caregiver.
Pdf attachment theory is based on the joint work of j. Mary ainsworth december 1, 19 march 21, 1999 was a developmental psychologist perhaps best known for her strange situation assessment and contributions to the area of attachment theory. When a child is raised by insecure attachment figures, they too will develop insecure attachments. A key focus is attachment theory in relation to children in their home and early. Attachment children raised by secure, stable attachment figures will develop secure attachment styles of their own. I hate to say it, but your parents have a pretty big hand in how you relate to, pick, and connect with your romantic partners. Mary ainsworth s innovative methodology not only made it possible to test some of bowlbys ideas empirically hut also helped expand the theory itself and is responsible for some of the new directions it is now taking. The legacy of john bowlbys attachment theory this chapter. The aims of this study were to assess how infants between 9 and 18 months behave under conditions of mild stress in order to test stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and. Each type could be identified based on specific behaviors the child would display. In secure attachments, a child would be distressed when the mother left and be avoidant of the stranger. The americancanadian psychologist mary ainsworth 191999 developed the strange situation procedure ssp to measure motherchild attachment and attachment theorists have used it ever since. She designed the strange situation procedure to observe early emotional attachment between a child and its primary caregiver.
The theory helps explain how our childhood relationships with our caregivers can have a profound impact on our relationships with others as adults. Mary mains work helped to prove bowlbys original idea that internal. The most important tenet is that young children need to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for normal social and emotional development. He thereby revolutionized our thinking about a childs tie to the mother and its disruption through separation. Drawing on concepts from ethology, cybernetics, information processing, developmental psychology, and psychoanalysis, john bowlby formulated the basic tenets of the theory. The central theme of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are available and responsive to an infants needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. Attachment theory was further developed by mary ainsworth 19 1999 and her assessment technique called the strange situation classification ssc. Attachment theory according to john bowlby and mary ainsworth krumwiede, andreas on. Its developmental history begins in the 1930s, with bowlbys growing interest in the link. Attachment theory, in developmental psychology, the theory that humans are born with a need to form a close emotional bond with a caregiver and that such a bond will develop during the first six months of a childs life if the caregiver is appropriately responsive. She developed a widely used research instrument called the strange situation for studying childrens attachment to their mothers under laboratory conditions. Using attachment theory in the classroom worksheet and pdf.
Attachment theory attachment theory is rooted in the joint work of john bowlby and mary ainsworth, whose research. By being responsive to an infants needs, a caregiver usually the mother establishes a sense of. In order to explore attachment patterns, ainsworth devised an experimental procedure called a strange situation. Mary ainsworth convinced me that the potentials of attachment theory for human development were well founded. The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world. Bowlby worked with ainsworth and then later went back to these theories to broaden these classifications. It is the theory that infants need to create an emotional bond to a caregiver. December 1, 19 march 21, 1999 was an americancanadian developmental psychologist known for her work in the development of the attachment theory. The history of attachment theory 2 abstract john bowlbys work began the theory of attachment. Its developmental history begins in the 1930s, with bowlbys growing interest in the link between maternal loss or deprivation and later personality development and with ainsworth s interest in security theory.
1268 1424 1247 1612 78 494 271 655 753 456 965 901 627 254 595 509 1565 60 225 264 1487 1307 935 1520 832 206 1418 781 615 769 52 171 10 1468 442 1492 1282 948 808 1139 865 343 453