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Mary Ainsworth Attachment Theory

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The problem and issue of the study conducted by Mary Ainsworth was to test and study the attachment of a child with their parent. This is imperative to any reader because even if you're not planning on having children, everyone will eventually interact with one. This being said, the study not only observed the attachment of a child on their mother, but also the changes in their behavior around a stranger. As a parent, it would be beneficial to read and learn about the way a child might think and react around different people in different scenarios. As a student, it's beneficial to read about Ainsworth's studies to be able to psychologically understand how a child might react around different people. The research method used in Mary Ainsworth's …show more content…
The results of the experiment were mainly that Ainsworth identified three main attachment styles in the observed children. These include secure attachment (type B), insecure avoidant attachment (type A), and insecure ambivalent attachment (type C). The majority of the infants, about 70 percent, that were observed in the experiment had shown secure attachment. The rest showed avoidant attachment (15%) and ambivalent attachment (15%). The infants who exhibited secure attachment were easily soothed by the attachment figure, and used them as a safe base when exploring their environment. The infants who displayed insecure avoidant attachment (15%) were independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally, and did not seek contact with attachment figure when distressed. Lastly, the infants who displayed insecure ambivalent attachment (15%) would exhibit clingy and dependent behavior, but would be rejecting towards the attachment figure. The conclusion of this study was that Mary Ainsworth suggested that the behavior in the strange situation classification was determined by the behavior of the primary

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