From security to attachment: Mary Ainsworth's contribution to attachment theory

Abstract

Even though John Bowlby

(1907-1990) is generally regarded as the founder of attachment theory,

Mary Ainsworth’s (1913-1999) contribution is considerable and goes

beyond the design of the Strange Situation Procedure and the introduction of maternal sensitivity as decisive for a secure attachment relationship. Ainsworth worked in Toronto with William Blatz (1895-1964) for almost two decades before she moved to London and worked with Bowlby in 1950. Ainsworth was heavily influenced by Blatz and his security theory and infused Bowlby’s attachment theory in the making with elements of Blatz’s security theory. These elements, like for instance the secure base phenomenon, are clearly recognizable even now. The Strange Situation Procedure, an instrument Ainsworth designed to measure the quality of attachment in young children, can also be traced back to her time with Blatz: in the 1930s she designed instruments to measure the concept of security. The Strange Situation Procedure, however, was not the first of its kind: since the 1930s researchers had been experimenting with children, alone or in the company of their parents in unfamiliar surroundings, sometimes in the presence of a stranger. Taken together, we conclude that Ainsworth’s contribution to attachment theory is more significant than hitherto believed.