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Mary Ainsworth Attachment Theory

1097 Words5 Pages

Rachel DiMauro
Ms. Woeller
Psychology 101

Mary Ainsworth

Born in Glendale, Ohio, as the oldest of three sisters, Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth was born in the December of 1913. She was the oldest of three sisters. In 1929 Ainsworth was one of four students to achieve an honors degree in psychology from the University of Toronto. She later went on to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where she took employment. She married Leonard Ainsworth in 1950—the couple moved to London, England, where Ainsworth was granted a research position at the Tavistock Clinic, under the direction of psychiatrist John Bowlby. Ainsworth was largely influenced by Bowlby’s research on the separation between mothers and children, and the effect that it has on …show more content…

Attachment Theory is quote, “… a concept in developmental psychology that concerns the importance of "attachment" in regards to personal development. Specifically, it makes the claim that the ability for an individual to form an emotional and physical "attachment" to another person gives a sense of stability and security necessary to take risks, branch out, and grow and develop as a personality” (https://www.psychologistworld.com). Ainsworth studied how attachment usually forms within the first six months of an infant’s life. It then shows up again in the next six months, in the form of anxiety around strangers, and/or a dislike of being separated from the caregiver. Knowing this, Ainsworth decided to elaborate on this theory—and that is how the “Strange Situation” theory was born. This test is used to follow the pattern of attachment that exists between a mother (or caregiver) and …show more content…

Today, the terms secure, avoidant, resistant and disorganized/disoriented attachment are still used to define infant-caregiver relationships as well as adult romantic relationship styles and even the relationship between children and their kindergarten teacher” (http://childpsych.umwblogs.org). There are some critiques concerning attachment theory in general. Some feel that it isn’t necessarily true, that just because a child is in a certain environment, that they will behave how they are treated or taught. Some feel that this theory as too many limitations, and that because the behaviors are so limited in this theory, that it doesn’t account for exceptions to these types of children. But whether one agrees with the theory or not, there is still value to the concept that Mary Ainsworth

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She observed episodes of close bodily contact, face to face encounters, separation and reunion behaviors, infant cooperation, and disobedience. Mary realized that she was seeing patterns that were similar to Bowlby’s work. She established the premise of the attachment theory, indicating that the baby treated the

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Attachment is a crucial part of a babies first year of life, Mary Ainsworth investigated weather the quality of attachment matters to a child's well being and also if some attachments are better than others. Ainsworth carried out her experiment which is known as "strange situation" The aim of this was to test how strong attachments were. During the experiment Ainsworth focused on the babies reactions during each part these included Parent and baby in a room, baby free to explore room whilst parent remains inactive, stranger joins parent and baby, Parent leaves room, Parent returns settles baby and stranger leaves, Baby is alone in the room, Stranger returns and interacts with the baby, Parent returns to the room and stranger leaves. During

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Attachment theory is an emotional bond formed between children and their primary caregivers through close interpersonal contact. Some patterns of children formed with the mother are pivotal to the social, emotional, and personality development of an individual. There are 3 distinct responses when a child is separated from their primary caregiver. One is protest, crying, active searching, and resistance to the comforting of others. Two is despair and blatant sadness.

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The Attachment Theory, for example, claims, "humans have the propensity to establish strong emotional bonds with others, and when individuals have some loss or emotional distress, they act out as a result of their loneliness and isolation". The emotional bond that connects the children and their caregiver are critical to the advancement of an internal working model. In Wuornos' case, granted her parents' abandonment and her grandparent’s sexual and physical abuse, she was incapable of forming a solid foundation of trust. It becomes more apparent following her disclosure of developing a sexual relationship with her older brother at a young

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(Carpenter and Huffman, 2013 p.278) In her studies of infants, she placed the mother in a room with the child (securely attached), then introduced a stranger to the child(anxious/ambivalent), then the mother would leave the room leaving the stranger with the child(anxious/avoidant), then mother would return (disorganized/disoriented attachment). Observations of the child's reactions towards the mother and stranger in each of these segments were analyzed. From this, Ainsworth was able to conclude the bonding the child had toward their mother. The more attached the child, the more they responded to the mother coming and going, either by clinging, crying or following.

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After reading the book “Ghosts from the nursery: Tracing the roots of violence” infants, let alone the fetus are not exempt from outside environments. John Bowl theorized that attachment theory is bondings with caregivers, particularly with mothers are very essential. The inquiry shows time alone with the baby immediately after birth has lasting consequences of interactions between.

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I can personally relate to this idea because my cognitive, emotional, and social development was influenced by the intimate attachments I had with my parents; the people who responded to my needs with love. When I was seven years old, I ran straight to my mother after I tripped over and broke my arm. My mother comforted me and took me to the doctors, positively responding to my needs. This meant that I felt protected when my parents were within close proximity and I could take risks and explore my environment, allowing me to learn how to relate to others in society (Drewery & Claiborne, 2014). The attachment theory is relevant to my life because the intimate attachments I had with my parents have meant that I have had little cognitive, emotional, and social developmental difficulties, turning me into a secure individual who can function positively into society (McLeod,

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Although we are studying theories, some of them appear to explain human behavior and personality with certain accuracy. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth theories of attachment can also explain what happens to people when attachment to their parents or caregivers is healthy or potential problems that could occur due to detachments. They suggest that individuals raised with secure attachments to their primary caregivers help them to feel secure; moreover, these children appear to be more socially skilled and less likely to experience major emotional disturbances. However, failure to form healthy attachments, especially mother-child, could serve as a descriptive mechanism for many negative psychological outcomes later in the life of an individual,

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Perhaps the most influential explanation of attachment was presented by John Bowlby who began developing his ideas in the 1940s. Bowlby presented two key theories, namely the maternal deprivation hypothesis and his theory of attachment, which we shall consider here. The ideas behind these theories are closely linked. Rather than locating the child's formation of attachment within the environment as learning theories do, Bowlby argued that attachment was an evolved mechanism that ensured the survival of the child.

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With research, it has become apparent that there is a correspondence between mothers and children on the basis that attachment. Attachment depends on the reaction from mothers to her child’s emotional cues. (Feldman, 2012, Chapter

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In 1969, John Bowlby made the connection that formed relationships and attachments to caregivers contributes to future development and growth. The attachment theory focuses on relationship association between caregivers and their children. Children who established a foundation with a caregiver despite their biological relation, gain much needed support. Establishing support, encourages a child’s development. The comfort of safety, allows children to feel secure in taking risks (Groman, 2012).

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One of the main theories in Developmental psychology is the attachment theory that was devised by Bowlby (1969) and was added to in 1973, by Mary Ainsworth. The attachment theory surrounds the bond between a primary care giver and a baby. They believe that attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space. In 1930 Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in a children’s unit, where he treated many emotionally disturbed children, this lead him to consider the relationship between mother and child and the impact that could have on the child’s development. Bowlby believed that the attachment process was an all or nothing process and that you either were attached or were not attached.

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The first concept i chose to review was child attachment, the emotional bond between a child and the parent. There is many different type of attachment such as insecure or secure attachment. The thing with attachment is that it may seem like a bad thing for a child to be attached to the parent but a lot of parents over look it. It is normal for children to build that strong with the parent and feel safe and secure around them. Sometimes attachment can go over board and that is when the child cannot be anywhere without its parent present.

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Bowlby 's attachment theory had vast investigation done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the interactions between mother and child, specifically, the theme of an infant’s investigation of their surroundings and the separation from their mother. This essay will focus on Bowlby’s attachment theory and Mary Ainsworth’s experiments and findings, discussing their views on the development and importance of attachment in early life. John Bowlby’s primary interest was in the relationship between child and mother or primary caregiver. Bowlby suspected that the earliest relationships formed by children and their primary parent or care giver, have huge impacts on the child’s later life. From this, Bowlby developed the attachment theory.

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Since the ‘50s, Bowlby worked alone and with distinguished colleagues such as psychoanalyst James Robertson, ethologist/zoologist Robert Hinde and psychologist Mary Ainsworth on several different studies. Bowlby suggested that due to the attachment between children and their carers, children suffer loss when they are separated. Bowlby’s study with the ethologist Robert Hinde, inspired the idea that certain attachment behaviours have evolved as a survival mechanism (Bergen, 2008). The core of the theory today is that the quality of close relationships affects personality, emotional and social development not only in childhood but throughout the life of the individual (Howe, 2001). This suggests that attachment theory is effectively a biological, psychological and social theory of human development.

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