Harry Harlow

The types of studies in the area of attachments before Mary Ainsworth were the works of Harry Harlow, John Bowlby, and William Blatz. Harry Harlow was born October 31st, 1905 in Iowa to a small farming community. He obtained his BA and PhD at Stanford University in experimental psychology. Harlow did studies on attachment with baby rhesus monkeys. According to Harlow, he “showed that maternal care in infancy was essential for adult sexual adjustment and mental health” (Vicedo, 2009). In his study, he had two replicas of maternal monkeys for the baby monkeys. One of the ‘mothers’ was warm to the touch as well as being soft. The other just had food and was just made of wire. The baby monkey showed more interest in the warm and fuzzy mother and barely went to the one with food. This showed Harlow that the baby monkey cared more about the warm and fuzzy mother. The second study on the baby monkey was scaring the baby monkey. The baby went running to the mother that provided warmth. To summarize, “the moral of this legend is one about the power of biology and the determinant effects of factors like mother love, which are necessary to fulfill an organism’s innate needs” (Vicedo, 2009). This was also an important conclusion to a

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation experiment involved a mother a child and a stranger. The experiment show that when the child was attached to the mother she was the only one who could comfort the child. The stranger could not comfort the child and when the child was left alone with out the mother the child would be upset. Ainsworth’s experiment showed that there are three types of attachment styles secure attachment, ambivalent attachment, and avoidant attachment. The child with secure attachment was very upset when the mother left and was not comforted by the stranger. Once the mother came back the child was okay and began to play again. Children with this type of attachment do this with their attachment figure because they know that the

Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist who is most commonly known for her attachment theory. Ainsworth ran an experiment that tested toddlers ages 1 to 2, in order to test infants and their responses to strange situations. This experiment reveals which 1 of 4 attachment styles children may possess. One type of attachment is secure attachment, this occurs when a child is very attached to the mother. Typically the child will explore and engage with others when the mother is in the room, but, when the mother leaves, this child will show negative emotions. When left alone with the stranger, the child will avoid the him. Anxious-Resistant Insecure Attachment is when a child becomes irritated when the stranger appears in the room, while mother is still in the room. Even when mother leaves, the child will not explore and continue play. However, when mother comes back the child acts resentful and upset towards their mother. Anxious-Avoidant Insecure Attachment is where a child seems careless. They show little emotions whether their mother is in the room or not. They don't want to be played with or held, they act the same towards stranger as well. Lastly, Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment is when a child might be distressed when the mother leaves the room and be relieved when she comes back. However,

The main reasons given for the type of attachment of the child were: parenting behavior and style, infant temperament, stress, genetic differences, and long hours in non-parental care. Some of Ainsworth’s peers questioned her thinking, on how a parents’ interactions with a child defines their attachment, but what if those interactions change, will the child’s attachment change as well? Most came to the conclusion that the attachment can change as often as the parent’s circumstances are changing (Mooney 33). Some people also thought, that Ainsworth’s research was biased because she did not observe relationships between the children and fathers. Ainsworth believed that the attachment was so very important and that a lot of the best attachment came through feeding time. Ainsworth's research showed that feeding a child on demand rather than on a schedule led to a more secure attachment between the child and

Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Bowlby, 1969). Likewise, attachment theory is a psychological model that seeks to illustrate the dynamics of both long term and short- term interpersonal relationships (Waters, E.; Corcoran, D.; Anafarta, M. 2005). Additionally, attachment theory address how people respond within relationships when hurt, separated from loved ones, or when they perceive a threat (Waters et al., 2005). Attachment theory is the combined work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth (Bretherton, I. 1992, p. 1). The theory predominantly draws on the ideas from doctrines such as, ethology, cybernetics, information processing and developmental psychology (Bretherton, I. 1992, p. 1). It is considered that attachment theory has revolutionized the way society thinks about the relationship between the mother and her child and the importance of

Mary Ainsworth conducted a number of observational studies over the course of two years whist living in Uganda with her husband. (reference) When Mary Ainsworth realised that observational study alone may not be enough to convince the academic community of the validity of her work in Uganda, Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Procedure (Audio reference). The Strange Situation Procedure involves seven episodes of a parent leaving an unfamiliar room, a stranger entering with the mother of the child leaving the room, the stranger attempting to interact with the child, and ultimately the mother retuning to the child. (reference) The reaction of the child upon the return of the primary caregiver is the dependent variable that Ainsworth focused her studies on. The response of the child is then categorised into four “attachment categories” , “stable” “anxious-resistant”,

This qualitative research was conducted to ascertain if the attachment style a person has as an adult is created or influenced by his/her interactions with early childhood experiences. The research was carried out by means of a thematic analysis of an interview of a married middle-aged couple. The interviews bought the themes of Work, Childhood and Relationships to the foreground and these were analysed to establish if there is a connection in our childhood attachments and those we make as adults. It can be seen that there are similarities to the attachment types of infants compared to those that

John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure,

The pioneering methodology put forwarded by Mary Ainsworth not only paved way for empirical testing various ideas of Bowlby but it also helped in expanding the Ethological Theory of Attachment. Other than that, the innovative methodology of Ainsworth is now responsible for the new directions this theory is taking. Ainsworth has been successful in contributing the concept of the attachment figure as a sheltered foundation with the support of which an infant becomes able to explore the world. Moreover, she has also created the notion of maternal sensitivity to infant signals and the role of this sensitivity in further nurturing the infant-mother attachment patterns (Bretherton, 1992).

Harry Israel was born in Fairfield, a small town in Iowa. He was the third of four boys and grew up in a family that placed a top quality on the value of education. When he completed his bachelor and doctoral degrees at Stanford University, his advisor convinced Harry to change his surname from Israel to Harlow because of the concern of possible discrimination of his last name. In 1930, Harlow began work as a comparative psychologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and remained there for his entire career. Among many honors, Harlow was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, was elected president of the American Psychological Association, and received the National Medal of Science from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967.

Attachment is the strong affectionate tie we have for special people in our lives that leads us to experience pleasure and joy when we interact with them and to be comforted by their nearness in times of stress (Berk). Within the first couple of months after birth, the infant forms an attachment to the familiar people who respond to and frequent their needs. Also in these first few months, the infant must often be touched, coddled, and shown affection. Without these gestures they may later show signs of developmental and emotional problems. Freud suggests that the infant’s emotional tie to the mother is the foundation for all later relationships (Berk).

Ainsworth & Bell (1970) explains the relationship between a mother and a child, in regards to attachment and exploration. The article discusses the child’s attachment behavior during separation and reunion of the mother. Ainsworth & Bell (1970) research exemplifies the idea of nurture being the primary reason for some characteristics of attachment to lead into adulthood. Ainsworth & Bell (1970) believe that attachment to the mother increases explanatory behavior and separation causes insecurities towards the mother. This theory, nonetheless, has several impediments. While attachment behavior to the mother is crucial for the relationship among the infant and the mother, this is not the only relationship that is established among infants. Relationships with close family members and fathers need to be considered. White middle class families were used during the experiment, while the middle class is known to have a healthier lifestyle then lowercase families. Ainsworth & Bell (l970) lack to show variation among infants that grew up in a bad environment that could potentially play a factor among infant and mother attachmment. Ainsworth & Bell (1970) research is in nurture during early child development context; however the environment and connections made with people throughout a child’s life also shape attachment characteristics among children.

At the core of attachment theory is the early relations between infant and the primary caregiver, usually the mother (Levy, Johnson, Clouthier, Scala, & Temes, 2015). Attachment theory is based on the pioneering work of John Bowlby (1969, 1980, 1988) after a long and somewhat conflicted association with psychoanalysis (Holmes, 1993 p.62). Bowlby’s theory of attachment was partly based on the findings of ethology and argued that attachment between infant and mother was not merely an instinct derived from feeding or infant sexuality as Freud and Klein first claimed, but was a psychological bond in its own right (Fitton, 2012).

Attachment theory, a developmental psychology concept, relays the significance of early attachment in development as studied throughout the works of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. The

A psychologist by the name of Mary Ainsworth conducted a study named “Strange Situation” where she talks about three types of styles of attachment. These styles include secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Mary Ainsworth is mainly known for her extended research on the work of John Bowlby and Attachment Theory. Ainsworth created a procedure called “Strange Situation” in order to observe and asses the condition of attachment in relationships with caregivers and children. In this study, the child involved is observed for twenty minutes as they play in a room