Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth

Background Information
 Born December 1913
 Died in the year 1999
 American – Canadian psychologist
 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
 She designed the strange situation procedure to observe early emotional attachment between a child and
its primary caregiver.
 Identified that three main styles of attachment exist: secure attachment, anxious-ambivalent insecure
attachment, anxious-avoidant insecure attachment

Strange Situation Assessment

Ainsworth 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.

Attachment
 The 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 Attachment
 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 Attachment

 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 than 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.