Who is Mary Ann Ainsworth?
Born Mary Dinsmore Salter in 1913 in Glendale, Ohio but raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Ainsworth was an intellectually gifted child who began attending the University of Toronto at age 16. [1]
Where was Ainsworth born and raised?
Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio and raised in Canada as the oldest of four girls. Both her father and mother were Dickinson College graduates and placed significant emphasis on proper education.
Why is Mary Ainsworth important to child development?
Mary Ainsworth's research on attachment has played an important role in our understanding of child development. While her work is not without its own controversies, such as the extent to which early attachment styles contribute to later behavior, her observations have inspired an enormous body of research on early childhood attachment.
When did Mary Ainsworth become a professor at Johns Hopkins?
After the Ainsworths’ move to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1954, Mary performed diagnostic work at a psychiatric hospital and lectured at Johns Hopkins University, where she became associate professor of developmental psychology in 1958. Shortly thereafter, she and Leonard divorced. Appointed to a full professorship in 1963,...
Who is Mary Ainsworth?
Who is Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth?
What is an anxious avoidant infant?
What was Ainsworth's main research question?
Where was Mary Dinsmore Salter born?
How many children were in the Baltimore study?
Why was Ainsworth's Strange Situation experiment biased?
See 4 more
About this website
Where was Mary Ainsworth born?
Glendale, OHMary Ainsworth / Place of birthDevelopmental psychologist Mary D. Salter Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio in December of 1913. The oldest of three girls, the family moved to Toronto, Canada in 1918 and, eventually becoming naturalized citizens.
When and where was Mary Ainsworth born?
Mary Dinsmore SalterMary Ainsworth / Full name
Where did Mary Ainsworth live?
United StatesUnited KingdomCanadaMary Ainsworth/Places lived
Where did Mary Ainsworth grow up?
Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio and raised in Canada as the oldest of four girls. Both her father and mother were Dickinson College graduates and placed significant emphasis on proper education.
What are Ainsworth 4 attachment styles?
Based on these observations, Ainsworth concluded that there were three major styles of attachment: secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Researchers Main and Solomon added a fourth attachment style known as disorganized-insecure attachment.
How many attachment styles are there?
Bowlby identified four types of attachment styles: secure, anxious-ambivalent, disorganised and avoidant.
What is Ainsworth known for?
Mary Ainsworth is an American-Canadian developmental psychologist, feminist, and army veteran who specialized in child psychology. Ainsworth devised an experiment called the “Strange Situation” in reaction to John Bowlby's initial finding that infants form an emotional bond to its caregiver.
What did Mary Ainsworth find?
Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist who conducted groundbreaking research on attachment theory. She is best known for her "strange situation" experiment, which helped identify the different types of attachment between children and their caregivers.
How do you reference Mary Ainsworth?
APA Citation (style guide) Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1978). ... Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide) Ainsworth, Mary D. Salter. ... Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide) Ainsworth, Mary D. ... MLA Citation (style guide) Ainsworth, Mary D.
Who created attachment theory?
John BowlbyAttachment theory is the joint work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991 ). Drawing on concepts from ethology, cybernetics, information processing, developmental psychology, and psychoanalysts, John Bowlby formulated the basic tenets of the theory.
What is Ainsworth Strange Situation?
The Strange Situation is a semi-structured laboratory procedure that allows us to identify, without lengthy home observation, infants who effectively use a primary caregiver as a secure base.
What challenges did Mary Ainsworth face?
Interestingly, going to therapy had a positive impact on her career as she became very interested in psychoanalysis. Another challenge Ainsworth had to overcome was sexism in the workplace. During her time at Johns Hopkins her salary did not match her experience, age, or academic contributions.
What is Mary Ainsworth best known for?
Mary Ainsworth is an American-Canadian developmental psychologist, feminist, and army veteran who specialized in child psychology. Ainsworth devised an experiment called the “Strange Situation” in reaction to John Bowlby's initial finding that infants form an emotional bond to its caregiver.
Who is Mary Ainsworth and what did she study?
Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist perhaps best known for her Strange Situation assessment and contributions to the area of attachment theory. 1 Ainsworth elaborated on Bowlby's research on attachment and developed an approach to observing a child's attachment to a caregiver.
How long did Mary Ainsworth live?
Ainsworth continued as Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia from 1984 to 1999 (Curriculum). Mary Ainsworth died in 1999 at the age of eighty-six (Curriculum).
Was Mary Ainsworth a doctor?
Interestingly for a scholar who would become most famous for her study of childhood attachment, Ainsworth did not have a good relationship with her mother and was instead close to her father. Ainsworth pursued her doctorate in psychology at the University of Toronto earning her PhD in 1939.
Mary Ainsworth Attachment Theory Explained - HRF
Many theories of attachment involved an all-or-nothing process. This means researchers have often focused on why some attachments are able to occur or why they do not. Mary Ainsworth went against this body of research because she believed that attachments were formed through a process that was much more complex than previously discussed. The Mary …
Where was Mary Ainsworth born?
The Impact of Her Early Life. Mary Ainsworth was born in Glendale Ohio. When she was 15, she read William McDougall's book Character and the Conduct of Life, which inspired her lifelong interest in psychology. She went on to attend the University of Toronto in the honors psychology program.
Who is Mary Ainsworth?
James Lacy, MLS, is a fact checker and researcher. Mary Ainsworth (December 1, 1913 – March 21, 1999) was a developmental psychologist perhaps best known for her Strange Situation assessment and contributions to the area of attachment theory. Ainsworth elaborated on Bowlby's research on attachment and developed an approach to observing ...
What did Ainsworth do to help children?
Ainsworth elaborated on Bowlby's research on attachment and developed an approach to observing a child's attachment to a caregiver. Based on her research, she identified three major styles of attachment that children have to their parents or caregivers.
What is Mary Ainsworth's contribution to psychology?
Major Contributions to Psychology. Mary Ainsworth's research on attachment has played an important role in our understanding of child development. While her work is not without its own controversies, such as the extent to which early attachment styles contribute to later behavior, her observations have inspired an enormous body ...
When did Leonard Ainsworth divorce?
In 1950, she married Leonard Ainsworth and moved to London. After returning to the U.S., Ainsworth took a position at John Hopkins University. She divorced in 1960 and underwent therapy that contributed to her interest in psychoanalytic theory.
What was Mary Ainsworth's Baltimore Project?
Appointed to a full professorship in 1963, Mary Ainsworth launched the Baltimore Project, modeled on her work in Uganda. Monthly home visits to 26 families began after a child’s birth and ended at 12 months. Detailed narratives captured the quality of interactions between mother and infant during feeding, contact, play, and distress episodes. The final observation, at 12 months, consisted of a mother-infant separation and reunion procedure now known as the Strange Situation (seeattachment theory: Individual-difference features of attachment theory). Patterns of infant behaviour during this laboratory procedure were predicted by maternal sensitivity and harmonious interaction qualities at home. Her findings, published during the next decade in several journal articles and a book, Patterns of Attachment(1978), inspired major longitudinal attachment studies in the United States, West Germany, and Israel.
Who is Mary Salter?
Mary Salter Ainsworth, American Canadian developmental psychologist known for her contributions to attachment theory. When she was five years old, Mary Salter’s family moved to Toronto, where her father became president of a manufacturing firm. At age 15 she read Character and the Conduct of Life
What book did Mary Salter read?
At age 15 she read Character and the Conduct of Life (1927), by the American psychologist William McDougall, which inspired her to study psychology.
Who was Mary Ainsworth married to?
Her goal was to research and teach personality psychology. In 1950, she married Leonard Ainsworth, who was a World War II veteran and a graduate student in the university’s psychology department. She adopted her husband’s surname and eventually became known globally as “Mary Ainsworth.”.
What is Mary Ainsworth known for?
Ainsworth is best known for her contributions to Attachment Theory and for developing the Strange Situation test. She is also one of the top 100 most frequently cited psychologists in history. Quick Navigation. Mary Ainsworth's Childhood. Educational Background.
How old was Mary Dinsmore Salter when she started reading?
Mary Dinsmore Salter showed a love for learning when she was very young. At age three , she started reading. Her parents would take her to the local library each week so she could get new books that were appropriate for her level. In 1918, when Salter was five years old, her family moved to Canada after her father was asked to become the president of a manufacturing firm in Toronto.
What is the relationship between attachment styles and infants?
Ainsworth believed attachment styles resulted from the infant’s early interactions with the mother, an idea which she termed the ‘maternal sensitivity hypothesis.’ A sensitive mother was defined as one who accurately perceives the needs of her child and responds to them promptly and appropriately. Ainsworth believed maternal sensitivity was necessary for healthy attachment.
Why is Ainsworth's theory so simplistic?
They contend that Ainsworth’s theory is overly simplistic since maternal sensitivity cannot adequately account for differences in attachment styles. They believe attachment is best explained by a combination of factors, including the child’s inborn temperament, rather than a single factor as Ainsworth suggests.
Why did Mary Ainsworth leave Johns Hopkins?
In 1975, Mary Ainsworth left Johns Hopkins in order to join the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. One of the primary reasons for her move was that several of her friends from Johns Hopkins had also decided to relocate to that university. Ainsworth retired reluctantly at the age of 70.
How old was Mary Salter when she was accepted to the University of Toronto?
In the fall of 1929, Mary Salter was accepted at the University of Toronto. She was 16 years old. Salter was one of only five students who were offered admission to the psychology honors program. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1935.
Who is Mary Ainsworth?
Mary Dinsmore Salter Ainsworth is an American child development psychologist known for her work on emotional attachment of infants to their caregiver using “The Strange Situation” experiment along with her work in development of Attachment Theory. Born in Glendale, Ohio in 1913, Ainsworth was the eldest of the three daughters of the Salter family.
Where did Mary Ainsworth teach?
Mary Ainsworth taught at the John Hopkins University and later at the University of Virginia. She headed the Society for Research in Child Development from 1977 to 1979 and was a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the British Psychological Association. She received the Award for Distinguished Professional Contribution ...
What was the name of the family that Ainsworth was from?
Born in Glendale, Ohio in 1913, Ainsworth was the eldest of the three daughters of the Salter family. When she was 15, she read William McDougall’s Character and Conduct of Life which stirred her life-long interest in psychology. Ainsworth enrolled in the psychology program at the University of Toronto in 1929 and was one of only five students to be offered admission to the program. She completed her BA in 1935, MA in 1936 and PhD in 1939, all from the same university. Ainsworth started teaching at University of Toronto until 1942 when she decided to join Canadian Women’s Army Corps. After four years in the Army, where she was promoted to the rank of a Major, she returned to University of Toronto as Assistant Professor. There she became emotionally involved with a graduate student, Leonard Ainsworth, whom she later married. Though the marriage lasted only ten years, her subsequent trip to London for Leonard’s doctoral research proved to be monumental in her career.
What award did Mary Ainsworth receive?
She received the Award for Distinguished Professional Contribution to Knowledge and G Stanley Hall Award from APA. She was also awarded the Gold Medal for Scientific Contributions from American Psychological Association in 1998. Mary Ainsworth breathed her last on March 21, 1999 at the ripe age of eighty six years.
How old is an infant when they are left in a room?
In this experiment, an infant between one and two years of age is left in a room to explore some toys while their caregiver and a stranger enter and leave the room and tries to communicate with the child.
Who Was Mary Ainsworth?
Mary Ainsworth was an American developmental psychologist best known for her work in attachment theory. She created the classic study used in attachment research called ' The Strange Situation .'
How old was Mary Ainsworth when she started studying psychology?
Mary Ainsworth, born Mary Salter in 1913, first became interested in psychology after reading William McDougall's book, Character and the Conduct of Life, when she was 15 years old. A year later, she enrolled at the University of Toronto in the honors psychology program. In addition to her bachelor's degree, she went on to earn both a master's ...
What did Bowlby and Ainsworth find?
Bowlby and Ainsworth found that when a child does not have a stable, predictable and readily accessible mother figure or primary caregiver, the child experiences detrimental emotional and relational effects. In 1954, Ainsworth left Tavistock Clinic to do her own attachment-related research in Kampala, Uganda.
What did Ainsworth find about mother-infant interactions?
Ainsworth found that mother-infant interactions created different responses in children. For some, the interaction gave the child a sense of security. For others, it prompted conflict and problematic behavior.
How many groups did Ainsworth categorize?
As a result of these experiments, Ainsworth was able to categorize the various responses into three groups:
What did Ainsworth's research help dispel?
Ainsworth's research helped dispel the traditional ideas at the time that prompt attention to a child would lead to 'spoiling' them. In fact, her research validated that prompt responses to needs like feeding or comfort are more beneficial for developing a securely attached relationship than delaying those needs, which could lead to an insecure attachment. Subsequent research by others has confirmed the results that Ainsworth obtained in her studies.
Who was Leonard Ainsworth married to?
Leonard Ainsworth. married Mary in 1950. Character and the Conduct of Life. William McDougall's book inspired Mary 's interest in psychology. Attachment theory. attachment categories for infants and caregivers. Maternal separation. affected a child's emotional and relational development. Primary caregiver.
Early Life
Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio and raised in Canada as the oldest of four girls. Both her father and mother were Dickinson College graduates and placed significant emphasis on proper education. Ainsworth graduated from high school eager to pursue a degree in psychology and enrolled in the University of Toronto in 1929.
Professional Life
In 1946, Ainsworth returned to teaching in Toronto. Shortly after her marriage in 1950, she moved to London with her husband Leonard Ainsworth, so that he could pursue his degree from University College London.
Contribution to Psychology
Ainsworth, in collaboration with colleague Sylvia Bell, developed a technique called the Strange Situation Test. This test is used to examine the pattern of attachment between a child and the mother or caregiver.
Controversies and Criticism
Ainsworth's Strange Situation test was designed to be used with mothers and their children, so her research reveals much less about attachments between fathers and children. Some researchers have also emphasized that Ainsworth's research may not apply across cultures.
Who is Mary Ainsworth?
Best known for her Strange Situation experiment and lasting contributions to attachment theory, Canadian-American psychologist Mary Ainsworth was a pioneer in developmental psychology. She was a groundbreaking researcher into childhood attachment. Her research techniques are still in use today, while the studies she conducted have become cornerstones of modern attachment theory, which she developed with her colleague John Bowlby. Ainsworth was an influential women outside of the academic sphere, her most lasting contribution was providing the empirical basis to change recommendations made to parents.
What is Mary Ainsworth's greatest achievement?
But perhaps her greatest achievement was using her remarkable intellectual gifts and commitment to empirical data to drastically shift cultural beliefs about parenting. Many children lived richer, happier and healthier lives because of Mary Ainsworth. The true purpose of the social sciences is to improve quality of life through an empirical study. Mary Ainsworth achieved as much or more in this regard as anyone else. Her contributions went beyond the academic and tangibly effected parents and children around the world.
What was Ainsworth's first work?
Ainsworth pursued her doctorate in psychology at the University of Toronto earning her PhD in 1939. Her first published academic work, her dissertation, examined the role that family security played in an individuals mental health and functioning. This dissertation, “An Evaluation of Adjustment Based on the Concept of Security” was based on work by her doctoral advisor, William E. Blatz, best known for his security theory. Blatz postulated that dependent security early in life (complete trust in caregivers) provided the foundation for the the exploration and risk-taking that were necessary to develop self-confidence, or independent security. This security theory is now seen as a precursor to Ainsworth and Bowlby’s attachment theory. [3]
What is the attachment theory of Ainsworth?
As Bowlby and Ainsworth developed their attachment theory, this is the intellectual context that they were responding to. A school of thought that viewed people as stimulus-response machines and developed child-rearing techniques based off this simplistic model. Ainsworth particularly felt the need to respond to these parenting recommendations and criticized Bowlby for minimizing the importance of feeding. [13] Ainsworth was successful in changing doctors recommendations to mothers of young infants. Previously based on a behaviorist approach, mothers had been told to maintain a regimented feeding schedule. Thanks to Ainsworth, the medical advice shifting to feeding infants when they are hungry. [14]
What was Ainsworth's contribution to attachment theory?
The major contribution that Ainsworth made to attachment theory beyond her empirical demonstrations and development of attachment styles was connecting Bowlby to the “security theory” of her doctoral advisor William Blatz, which she had expanded on since her time as PhD candidate. [20] The concept of a caregiver as a secure base from which the child developed the feeling of physical and emotional safety that allowed development and exploration became Bowlby’s “attachment figure”.
What was the relationship between Ainsworth and Bowlby?
The close, intellectual relationship between Ainsworth and Bowlby was fruitful for both of their academic development. Bowlby and his colleagues at the Tavistock Clinic in London pushed Ainsworth to develop a firm definition for her concept of attachment. She began to catalogue behaviors in such a way that they could be coded in an experimental setting. [19] This was extremely useful in the Strange Situation experiments.
What did Ainsworth predict?
Ainsworth found that the infant’s behavior during these trials were predicted by the quality of care and maternal affection that they received at home. She categorized the infants into three attachment styles before adding a fourth with her colleague Mary Main in 1990. [16] Ainsworth called these styles secure attachment; two types of insecure attachment, anxious-avoidant and anxious resistant; and the later style, disorganized attachment in infants who are inconsistent in their behavior.
Other Media
Mary Ainsworth Papers. The Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron, OH.
Biography
Developmental psychologist Mary D. Salter Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio in December of 1913. The oldest of three girls, the family moved to Toronto, Canada in 1918 and, eventually becoming naturalized citizens.
Selected Works
Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bowlby, J. (1953). Research strategy in the study of mother-child separation. Paris: Courrier de la Centre International de l'Enfance.
What does Mary Ainsworth conclude about the strange situation?
Mary Ainsworth concluded that the strange situation could be used to identify the child's type of attachment has been criticized on the grounds that it identifies only the type of attachment to the mother. The child may have a different type of attachment to the father or grandmother, for example (Lamb, 1977). This means that it lacks validity, as it does not measure a general attachment style, but instead an attachment style specific to the mother.
Why did Ainsworth develop an experimental procedure?
Ainsworth developed an experimental procedure in order to observe the variety of attachment forms exhibited between mothers and infants. The experiment is set up in a small room with one way glass so the behavior of the infant can be observed covertly. Infants were aged between 12 and 18 months.
What is the maternal sensitivity hypothesis?
Ainsworth's maternal sensitivity hypothesis argues that a child’s attachment style is dependent on the behavior their mother shows towards them.
When did Schaffer and Emerson discover innate differences in sociability in babies?
For example, Schaffer and Emerson (1964) discovered what appeared to be innate differences in sociability in babies; some babies preferred cuddling more than others, from very early on, before much interaction had occurred to cause such differences. It’s easy enough to know when you are attached to someone because you know how you feel ...
Who is Mary Ainsworth?
Mary Ainsworth. Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth ( / ˈeɪnswɜːrθ /; née Salter; December 1, 1913 – March 21, 1999) was an American-Canadian developmental psychologist known for her work in the development of the attachment theory. She designed the strange situation procedure to observe early emotional attachment between a child and its primary caregiver .
Who is Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth?
John Bowlby. Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth ( / ˈeɪnswɜːrθ /; née Salter; December 1, 1913 – March 21, 1999) was an American-Canadian developmental psychologist known for her work in the development of the attachment theory. She designed the strange situation procedure to observe early emotional attachment between a child ...
What is an anxious avoidant infant?
A child with the anxious-avoidant insecure attachment style will avoid or ignore the caregiver – showing little emotion when the caregiver departs or returns. The child will not explore very much regardless of who is there. There is not much emotional range regardless of who is in the room or if it is empty. Infants classified as anxious-avoidant (A) represented a puzzle in the early 1970s. They did not exhibit distress on separation, and either ignored the caregiver on their return (A1 subtype) or showed some tendency to approach together with some tendency to ignore or turn away from the caregiver (A2 subtype). Ainsworth and Bell (1970) theorised that the apparently unruffled behaviour of the avoidant infants is in fact as a mask for distress, a hypothesis later evidenced through studies of the heart-rate of avoidant infants.
What was Ainsworth's main research question?
It was her first time publicly presenting results, and the reactions were not enthusiastic. The primary question that developmental psychologists brought up was her definition for "attachment." Ainsworth was motivated by this and other questions to create a catalogue of behaviors like "crying when the mother left the room, following her, greeting her on return with smiling, vocalization, excited bouncing, reaching or approach behavior" that she could use to qualify attachment.
Where was Mary Dinsmore Salter born?
Mary Dinsmore Salter was born in Glendale, Ohio on December 1, 1913, the eldest of three daughters born to Mary and Charles Salter. Her father, who possessed a master's degree in history, worked at a manufacturing firm in Cincinnati and her mother, who was trained as a nurse, was a homemaker. Both her parents were graduates of Dickinson College who placed "high value on a good liberal arts education" and expected their children to have excellent academic achievements. In 1918, her father's manufacturing firm transferred him and the family moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where Salter would spend the rest of her childhood.
How many children were in the Baltimore study?
On the basis of their behaviors, the 26 children in Ainsworth's original Baltimore study were placed into one of three classifications. Each of these groups reflects a different kind of attachment relationship with the caregiver, and implies different forms of communication, emotion regulation, and ways of responding to perceived threats.
Why was Ainsworth's Strange Situation experiment biased?
It was said that Ainsworth's work was biased because the study was conducted with only middle class American families.
