Mary Ainsworth And Attachment : An Influential Psychologist

Psychologist, Mary Ainsworth, provided the most famous body of research offering explanations of individual differences in attachment. She devised as assessment technique called the Strange Situation Classification to

The origins of Attachment theory can be traced to the influential work of John Bowlby (1958). Bowlby’s work as a psychiatrist in a Child Guidance Clinic in London caused him to consider the significance of the child’s relationship with their mother in terms of their cognitive, emotional and social development. Specifically, it contributed to enthralling his interests surrounding the link between early infant separations with the mother and later maladjustment, leading Bowlby to formulate the Theory of Attachment. Bowlby argues that this attachment between the mother and child is different in a qualitative form from any other form attachment. This theory, although seminal, holds many criticisms from others, stating that children learn more from their peers rather than from their parents (Harris, 1998). A separate criticism is that of Field’s (1996), who evaluates the many limitations of the Attachment Theory.

John Bowlby, the backbone of attachment theories will be discussed throughout this essay to explain and evaluate the key theories of attachment. Health and well-being which is made up of four factors ‘physical, intellectual, emotional and social ' (Jones, 2016), will also be discussed within the essay. The definition of attachment is ‘an act of attaching or the state of being attached. ' (Dictionary, 1400) This will be showed in the assignment, using theorists to analyse the meaning. Sharing the strengths and weaknesses in some theorists will help conclude this assignment.

This essay will compare and contrast the work of psychologists Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth. To compare and contrast will be to emphasise the similarities and differences of both Harlow and Ainsworth’s work on understanding attachment, to which they have both made great contribution. Attachment refers to the mutually affectionate developing bond between a mother and any other caregiver (Custance 2010). It is a bond in which the infant sees the caregiver as a protective and security figure. Failing to form any type of attachment during the earliest years of childhood is thought to lead to social and emotional developmental issues that can carry on well into adult life (Custance 2010). Attachment theory was formulated by psychoanalyst

From the Napier video,” Chicken Wire Mother,” the most interesting result from this experiment was Harry Harlow showed that the comfort and security the cloth mother brought allowed the infant monkey to have the courage to explore the scary room. It's important to remember that when Harlow did these studies, people really didn't understand attachment at that time. Around the same time period, it was common for hospitals to refuse to allow parents to visit small children who were hospitalized because it was thought the child would adjust better. Harlow went further with monkeys than we'd do with humans, but it's not like he was being pointlessly cruel. Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space. It could also be seen a vital in convincing people about the importance of emotional care in hospitals, children's homes and day care.

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

Harlow´s was one of the pioneers developing a research on attachment, but the main subjects on his studied were monkeys; in contrast, Ainsworth studied the attachment of humans.

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,

Mary Ainsworth was born Mary D. Salter into a middle class family in Ohio in 1913. When Mary was five years old her family moved to Canada, where her parents tried their best to give her and her siblings a good education, and every opportunity available to them. Although her childhood was filled with many opportunities, and a comfortable lifestyle there were still some emotional struggles in the family dynamics in their household. These emotional struggles are what led to and encouraged Mary to pursue a career researching attachment and relationships between parents and their children.

Ainsworth and Bowlby are only a few of the noteworthy names that have made various theories on attachment with an experiment attached to their name. Ainsworth with another colleague, most noteworthy experiment where they discovered the different types of attachment styles, the experiment the Ainsworth named The Strange Situation “were the security of attachment in one- to two-year-olds were investigated using the strange situation paradigm, in order to determine the nature of attachment behaviors and styles of attachment”. (McLeod 2007) The procedure begins with the child and his mother in a room where the child is allowed to play and explore alone. A stranger enters the room, talks to the mother, and approaches the child while the mother leaves

In 1979, developmental psychologist Mary Ainsworth conducted an experiment with infants to determine if they had insecure or secure attachment to their mothers. In what she called a “Strange Situation,” babies had to cope with their mothers leaving the room and being left alone with a stranger. The ones who cried at first, played with the stranger, and then were happy when the mother returned were deemed to have secure attachment. Those who could not cope with their mother’s departure or begrudgingly ignored their mother upon return, were considered to have insecure attachment (Ainsworth). Later on in life, these infants were studied again.

This essay will evaluate the usefulness of Harry Harlow’s work in understanding human attachment. Harlow was interested in whether infants form attachments as a result of biological needs being met or whether they are predisposed to forming attachments with stimuli that have certain comforting properties; he tested this using monkeys and in later years studied maternal deprivation and abuse in monkeys. The findings from Harlow’s (1958, cited in Custance, 2012) initial experiments showed that baby monkeys were predisposed to forming bonds with objects with comforting properties rather than objects that only satisfied their biological needs.

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,

Many psychologists have come and gone, and many different theoretical orientations have been developed. With each orientation has come a new perspective on development, behaviour and mental processes. Some are similar, yet others could not be more contradictory. Attachment is one such theoretical orientation, developed by John Bowlby out of his dissatisfaction with other existing theories. Although Bowlby rejected psychoanalytical explanations for early infant bonds, the theory of attachment was influenced in part by the principles of psychoanalysis; in particular the observations by Ana Freud and Dorothy Burlingham of young children separated from