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Mary Ainsworth

black and white portrait of woman

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. In this experiment, the infant is placed in scenarios with or without its mother as well as with or without a stranger. The child’s behavior was observed in these “anxious” conditions. Ainsworth expanded the theory by stating that infants react in 4 different attachment patterns (secure, ambivalent, avoidant, or disorganized) based on the extent of their bond to their primary caregiver.

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