Mary AinsworthMegan WhiteTiffany McNeishNikki DevanteJem Rogich

Background Information• Born December 1913• Died in the year 1999• Worked with John Bowlby at

Tavistock Clinic in England where she began her research of maternal-infant attachments

• Known for her development of the “Strange Situation” assessment used to observe child attachment

• Identified that three main styles of attachment exist: secure, anxious-avoidant, and anxious-resistant

Strange Situation AssessmentAinsworth used strange situation assessments

to observe maternal-child attachment. During these assessments, the researcher observes a child’s reaction when a mother/caregiver leaves a child alone in an unfamiliar room and setting. This assessment was used to observe the behavior of the child that occurs during the separation and upon the mother’s/caregiver’s return. The information observed during these assessments can reveal important information about the attachment that exists between a mother and child.

Steps of a Strange Situation Assessment

1. Caregiver and infant are introduced to the experimental room. 2. Caregiver and infant are left alone. Caregiver does not participate while infant plays and explores. 3. Stranger enters, converses with parent, then approaches infant. Caregiver leaves inconspicuously. 4. First separation episode: Stranger's adjusts his behavior to that of the infant. 5. First reunion episode: Caregiver greets and comforts the infant, then leaves again. 6. Second separation episode: Infant is left alone. 7. Continuation of second separation episode: Stranger enters and again adjusts his behavior to that of the infant. 8. Second reunion episode: Parent enters, greets infant, and picks up infant; stranger leaves inconspicuously.

AttachmentThe sense of safety a

child feels with particular adults through

established relationships.

Quality develops according to caregiver's

behavior.

Ranges from secure to insecure

Three Attachment Styles

• Secure Attachment

• Anxious-Ambivalent Insecure Attachment

• Anxious-Avoidant Insecure Attachment

Secure Attachment

• Emotional bond between children and their caregivers

Anxious-Ambivalent Insecure• The child is extremely

distressed, when the caregiver departs.

• Child is anxious of exploration and of strangers, even when the caregiver is present.

• When caregiver returns, the child will seek to remain close to the caregiver, but will be resentful, and resistant to caregiver's attention

• Can be a result of a caregiver who ignores or tends to the child's needs according to the caregiver's own needs or interest rather than in response to the child's cues.

Anxious-Avoidant Insecure• Child will show no

reaction when caregiver leave or returns.

• Child may ignore caregiver altogether.

• Child has little or no interest in exploring area or have interaction with caregiver.

• Child will treat strangers no different that caregiver.

• Can result from caregiver being disengaged and emotionally detached from child.

The Fourth Attachment Style:Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment

• Ainsworth validated her colleague Mary Main’s modification to the three known attachment styles.

• Disorganized/disoriented attachment• An example of this attachment is when a child is upset by the

separation of the primary caregiver. These children tend to avoid their caregiver when they return at times or may seem nervous when approaching the caregiver.

• Things to Look for in Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment Children:

• Children rocking back and forth, freezing, throwing themselves on the floor and/or hitting themselves repeatedly.

Reference Page • Cherry, Kendra.(2013). Attachment Styles. http://

psychology.about.com/od/loveandattraction/ss/attachmentstyle_2.htm Web. 28 Aug. 2013. 

• Petersen, S. H., and Wittmer D. S. (2009).Endless Opportunities for Infant and Toddler Curriculum: A Relationship-based Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. Chapter 7: Endless Opportunities for Attachment and Emotional Development 113-130. Print.

• Main, M. & Morgan, H. (1996). Disorganization and Disorientation in Infant Strange Situation Behaviors: Phenotypic Resemblance to Dissociative States. Michelson, L. & Ray W. Handbook of Dissociation: Theoretical, Empirical, and Clinical Perspectives. Plenum Press, NY. 107-108. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=p6MlaWBl0l4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA107&dq=Mary+Ainsworth+accepted+validation+of+Disorganized/disoriented+attachment&ots=x33YU-Zg5P&sig=eyIdtZ_2Y2IAADVHIwunYkuL8_Y#v=onepage&q&f=false. Web. 28 Aug. 2013

References Continued • Brodie, R.(2012). Mary Ainsworth and Attachment

Theory. http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/mary-ainsworth-and-attachment-theory.html Web. 28 Aug. 2013.