This is the third Newsletter Post, but the most recent….
Mary Ainsworth is a clinical psychologist who is most well-known for her contribution to developing the attachment theory. The focus of her research was early development attachment that a child may have with a primary caregiver. Her most cited contribution was the Strange Situation process, which was an assessment to measure and classify levels of attachment between an infant and a mother.
The attachment bond was unique and described as long-lasting, emotionally salient, and specific to the primary caregiver. Ainsworth observed behavioral characteristics in various scenarios when the subjects were separated. Three distinct dimensions of attachment were identified, and namely, secure, anxious avoidant, and anxious-resistant. The organizational construct of attachment stability and flexibility in behavior has since become an integral concept in developmental theory (Gross, Stern, Brett, & Cassidy, 2015).