332 CHAPTER 8
temperament is very close, but the parents of the second infant are a “poor fit” in temper-
ament for that less active child (Chess & Thomas, 1986). A poor fit can make it difficult to
form an attachment, the important psychosocial–emotional bond we will discuss next.
AT TAC H M E N T The emotional bond that forms between an infant and a primary care-
giver is called attachment. Attachment is an extremely important development in the
social and emotional life of the infant, usually forming within the first 6 months of the
infant’s life and showing up in a number of ways during the second 6 months, such as
stranger anxiety (wariness of strangers) and separation anxiety (fear of being separated
from the caregiver). Although attachment to the mother is usually the primary attach-
ment, infants can attach to fathers and to other caregivers as well.
ATTACHMENT STYLES Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth, 1985; Ainsworth et al., 1978) devised
a special experimental design to measure the attachment of an infant to the caregiver;
she called it the “Strange Situation” (exposing an infant to a series of leave-takings and
returns of the mother and a stranger). Through this measurement technique, Ainsworth
and another colleague identified four attachment styles:- Secure: Infants labeled as secure were willing to get down from their mother’s lap soon
after entering the room with their mothers. They explored happily, looking back at
their mothers and returning to them every now and then (sort of like “touching base”).
When the stranger came in, these infants were wary but calm as long as their mother
was nearby. When the mother left, the infants got upset. When the mother returned, the
infants approached her, were easily soothed, and were glad to have her back. - Avoidant: In contrast, avoidant babies, although somewhat willing to explore, did
not “touch base.” They did not look at the stranger or the mother and reacted very
little to her absence or her return, seeming to have no interest or concern. - Ambivalent: The word ambivalent means to have mixed feelings about something.
Ambivalent babies in Ainsworth’s study were clinging and unwilling to explore,
very upset by the stranger regardless of the mother ’s presence, protested mightily
when the mother left, and were hard to soothe. When the mother returned, these
babies would demand to be picked up but at the same time push the mother away
or kick her in a mixed reaction to her return. - Disorganized–disoriented: In subsequent studies, other researchers (Main & Hesse,
1990; Main & Solomon, 1990) found that some babies seemed unable to decide
just how they should react to the mother’s return. These disorganized– disoriented
infants would approach her but with their eyes turned away from her, as if afraid to
make eye contact. In general, these infants seemed fearful and showed a dazed and
depressed look on their faces.
It should come as no surprise that the mothers of each of the four types of infants
also behaved differently from one another. Mothers of secure infants were loving, warm,
sensitive to their infant’s needs, and responsive to the infant’s attempts at communica-
tion. Mothers of avoidant babies were unresponsive, insensitive, and coldly rejecting.
Mothers of ambivalent babies tried to be responsive but were inconsistent and insensi-
tive to the baby’s actions, often talking to the infant about something totally unrelated to
what the infant was doing at the time. Mothers of disorganized–disoriented babies were
found to be abusive or neglectful in interactions with the infants.
Attachment is not necessarily the result of the behavior of the mother alone, however.
The temperament of the infant may play an important part in determining the reactions of the
mother (Goldsmith & Campos, 1982; Skolnick, 1986). For example, an infant with a difficult
temperament is hard to soothe. A mother with this kind of infant might come to avoid unnec-
essary contact with the infant, as did the mothers of the avoidant babies in Ainsworth’s studies.
Critics of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation research focus on the artificial nature of the
design and wonder if infants and mothers would behave differently in the more familiar
attachment
the emotional Dond Detween an infant
and the Rrimary caregiver.
This toddler shows reluctance to explore her
environment, instead clinging to her father’s
leg. Such clinging behavior, if common, can
be a sign of an ambivalent attachment.