Mary Ainsworth facts for kids

Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth (born Salter; December 1, 1913 – March 21, 1999) was an American-Canadian developmental psychologist. She is famous for her important work on attachment theory. This theory looks at how young children form strong emotional bonds with their main caregivers.

Dr. Ainsworth created a special test called the strange situation procedure. This test helps scientists watch how babies and young children connect with their parents or caregivers. Her studies are a key part of understanding how children develop emotional attachments. In 2002, a survey ranked her as one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century.

Life Story of Mary Ainsworth

Mary Dinsmore Salter was born in Glendale, Ohio on December 1, 1913. She was the oldest of three daughters. Her parents were both college graduates who believed strongly in education. They expected their children to do well in school. In 1918, her family moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where Mary grew up.

Mary was a very smart child who loved to learn. She started reading when she was only three years old. Every week, her family would visit the library to get books for her. She had a close bond with her father. When she was 15, Mary decided she wanted to be a psychologist after reading a book by William McDougall.

She started college at the University of Toronto at age 16. She was one of only five students accepted into the special psychology program. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1935. She then continued her studies and received her master's degree in 1936 and her PhD in 1939. Her PhD paper was about how important family security is for a person's well-being. She wrote that without a secure family, a person might struggle to feel safe and confident.

After finishing her studies, Mary Salter taught at the University of Toronto. In 1942, she joined the Canadian Women's Army Corps. She started by interviewing and choosing people for the army. She also gave tests to see how well people would fit certain jobs. By 1945, she became a Major.

After the war, Mary went back to Toronto to teach psychology and do research. In 1950, she married Leonard Ainsworth, who was also studying psychology. They moved to London so he could finish his PhD. Even though they divorced in 1960, these ten years allowed Mary to meet many important psychologists. One of them was John Bowlby, who became a key partner in her research. She also moved to Kampala, Uganda for a time, where she started her first studies on how mothers and babies interact.

Mary Ainsworth held many academic jobs, including a long time at Johns Hopkins University. She finally settled at the University of Virginia in 1975. She stayed there until she retired in 1984. She continued to be active in her field until 1992. During her time at Johns Hopkins, Mary faced challenges because she was a woman. She did not always get the pay or job titles she deserved, even though she was highly skilled.

Dr. Ainsworth received many awards for her work. These included awards from the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1984, 1985, and 1989. In 1992, she was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She passed away on March 21, 1999, at age 85, after having a stroke.

Early Research on Attachment

During her graduate studies, Mary Ainsworth worked with William E. Blatz. He had a theory called "security theory." This idea suggested that how much children depend on their parents affects their relationships. It also impacts how they form relationships later in life. Blatz believed that secure and mature interactions lead to healthy relationships.

After leaving the army, Mary returned to teaching and research in Toronto. When she moved to London with her husband, she joined John Bowlby's research team. They studied what happens when children are separated from their mothers. Their research showed that not having a mother figure could cause problems for a child's development.

In 1954, Mary Ainsworth went to Africa to do her own research. She studied how mothers and babies interacted in Uganda. She looked at a local custom where children would live with relatives for a few days during weaning. Mary interviewed families in six villages. At first, she faced a language barrier. But she worked hard to learn the local language so she could talk with people. This helped her understand the culture better. Her book about this study, Infancy in Uganda, showed that attachment is a universal process. This means it happens in similar ways across different cultures and places.

Later, Mary Ainsworth followed her husband to Baltimore. She began teaching at The Johns Hopkins University. In 1958, she became a professor there. During this time, her working relationship with John Bowlby grew stronger. They started working as equal partners, sharing ideas and research. Bowlby shared his new paper with Ainsworth, and she shared her findings from her Uganda study.

Mary Ainsworth went through a difficult divorce in 1960. But she kept doing her research. She presented her findings from the Uganda study in London. At first, other psychologists had questions about her definition of "attachment." This motivated Ainsworth to create a list of specific behaviors. These behaviors, like crying when a mother leaves or smiling when she returns, helped her define and measure attachment.

The Strange Situation Experiment

In 1965, Mary Ainsworth created the Strange Situation Procedure. This experiment helps scientists see how children react to stress and separation. It helps them understand different ways children form attachments.

The Strange Situation has eight short parts, each lasting about three minutes:

• First, a baby and their caregiver are in a room with toys.
• After one minute, a stranger comes into the room and slowly tries to get to know the baby.
• The caregiver leaves the baby alone with the stranger for three minutes.
• Then, the caregiver comes back.
• The caregiver leaves again, leaving the baby alone for three minutes.
• Next, the stranger comes back in and tries to comfort the baby.
• Finally, the caregiver returns and picks up the baby.

As the experiment goes on, the baby's stress slowly increases. Researchers watch how the baby explores and how they show attachment behavior. They observe what happens when the parent is there and when they are not.

Based on how the children acted, Ainsworth put them into different groups. Each group showed a different kind of attachment to their caregiver. These groups also showed different ways children communicate and handle their feelings.

Even though the Strange Situation provided many important findings, some people criticized it. They said it focused too much on the mother. They also thought it might not show a child's general attachment style. Critics also pointed out that the study was mostly done with middle-class American families. Some felt the experiment was not natural and might not show how children act in real life.

Anxious-Avoidant Insecure Attachment

Children with an anxious-avoidant attachment style often avoid or ignore their caregiver. They show little emotion when the caregiver leaves or comes back. These children do not explore much, no matter who is in the room. They don't show many feelings, whether someone is there or not. Scientists later found that even though these children seemed calm, their heart rates showed they were actually stressed.

Secure Attachment

A child who is securely attached will explore freely when their caregiver is present. They use their caregiver as a "safe base" to feel comfortable exploring. These children will play with a stranger when the caregiver is in the room. They will be visibly upset when the caregiver leaves. But they will be happy to see the caregiver return. In the United States, about 70% of middle-class babies in this study showed secure attachment.

Anxious-Resistant Insecure Attachment

Children with an anxious-resistant attachment style often show distress even before the caregiver leaves. They are clingy and hard to comfort when the caregiver returns. They might seem angry about the caregiver's absence. In Ainsworth's first study, some of these children were so upset that the experiment had to be stopped.

Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment

A fourth attachment style was added later by Mary Ainsworth's colleague, Mary Main. In 1990, Ainsworth agreed to this new group. Unlike the other groups, children with disorganized attachment don't have a clear way of dealing with stress. They might show mixed behaviors, like wanting to be close to their caregiver but then avoiding them. They might also seem confused or dazed when their caregiver returns. Studies have shown that these children often have higher levels of stress hormones.

Major Works

• Ainsworth, M. and Bowlby, J. (1965). Child Care and the Growth of Love. London: Penguin Books.
• Ainsworth, M. (1967). Infancy in Uganda. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins.
• Ainsworth, M., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of Attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Lifetime Awards

• Phi Beta Kappa, University of Toronto
• Distinguished Contribution Award, Maryland Psychological Association (1973)
• Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Virginia Psychological Association (1983)
• Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Division 12 (Division of Clinical Psychology), American Psychological Association (APA; 1984)
• G. Stanley Hall Award, Division 7 (Division of Developmental Psychology), APA (1984)
• Salmon Lecturer, Salmon Committee on Psychiatry and Mental Hygiene, New York Academy of Medicine (1984)
• William T. Grant Lecturer in Behavioral Pediatrics, Society for Behavioral Pediatrics (1985)
• Award for Distinguished Contributions to Child Development Research, Society for Research in Child Development (1985)
• Award for Distinguished Professional Contribution to Knowledge, APA (1987)
• C. Anderson Aldrich Award in Child Development, American Academy of Pediatrics (1987)
• Distinctive Achievement Award, Virginia Association for Infant Mental Health (1989)
• Honorary Fellowship, Royal College of Psychiatrists (1989)
• Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, APA (1989)
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1992)
• Distinguished Professional Contribution Award, Division 12 (Division of Clinical Psychology), APA (1994)
• International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships Distinguished Career Award (1996)
• Mentor Award, Division 7 (Division of Developmental Psychology), APA (1998)
• Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology, American Psychological Foundation (APF, 1998)

See also

In Spanish: Mary Ainsworth para niños