This paper examines the importance of an attachment, particularly ambivalent attachment, of a parent and child during the child’s growth. The impact of attachment in humans is evident in adolescence and adulthood, even with some of the same personalities and characteristics transferred. The first section of the text explores Mary Ainsworth’s (1951) “Strange Situation” experiment. The experiment recorded ambivalent attachment behavior amongst infants, a relatively rare type of attachment. The study describes how infants react when their parents leave them and come back. The departure of their parents causes the infants to display distress, but followed by comfort and reassurance upon their return. This immediate change in emotion translates
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There are multiple types of attachment, with one of them being ambivalent attachment. In ambivalent attachment, infants display intense distress when their parents leave, even more so than compared to secure attachment, which is the ideal attachment. The characteristics of ambivalently attached infants will largely determine their personalities regarding relationships in the future. To study the effects of attachment in infants, Mary Ainsworth conducted an experiment with 100 infants ranging from 12-18 months of age, their caretakers, and strangers and recorded the results. With one infant and their parent initially in one room, the parent leaves their child. A stranger enters and replaces the parent. Eventually, the stranger then leaves the room, leaving the child alone. Ainsworth identified 15% of the infants in this experiment who possess an ambivalent attachment. They exhibited intense distress during separation, but upon their parent’s return behaved difficultly and were reluctant towards attempts to soothe them. Ainsworth labeled them as “…terribly anxious and agitated upon separation, often crying profusely” (Karen 1994). Furthermore, infants that exhibited this particular behavior tend to perceive themselves negatively and seek attention by exaggerating …show more content…
These characteristics will become the roots for speech, behavior, habits, relationships, and ultimately, personality. Unfortunately, infants who possess ambivalent relationships can result in them being frequently anxious and “clingy”. In relationships, children who grow up ambivalently attached will “…tend to work too hard to please and appease their partners, and increasingly become resentful when the caring responses or appreciation they seek fail to be realized.” Consequently, the same people will experience recurrent break ups, escalating their stress levels which, occasionally, cause depression. (Athena Staik
There are multiple types of attachment, with one of them being ambivalent attachment. In ambivalent attachment, infants display intense distress when their parents leave, even more so than compared to secure attachment, which is the ideal attachment. The characteristics of ambivalently attached infants will largely determine their personalities regarding relationships in the future. To study the effects of attachment in infants, Mary Ainsworth conducted an experiment with 100 infants ranging from 12-18 months of age, their caretakers, and strangers and recorded the results. With one infant and their parent initially in one room, the parent leaves their child. A stranger enters and replaces the parent. Eventually, the stranger then leaves the room, leaving the child alone. Ainsworth identified 15% of the infants in this experiment who possess an ambivalent attachment. They exhibited intense distress during separation, but upon their parent’s return behaved difficultly and were reluctant towards attempts to soothe them. Ainsworth labeled them as “…terribly anxious and agitated upon separation, often crying profusely” (Karen 1994). Furthermore, infants that exhibited this particular behavior tend to perceive themselves negatively and seek attention by exaggerating …show more content…
These characteristics will become the roots for speech, behavior, habits, relationships, and ultimately, personality. Unfortunately, infants who possess ambivalent relationships can result in them being frequently anxious and “clingy”. In relationships, children who grow up ambivalently attached will “…tend to work too hard to please and appease their partners, and increasingly become resentful when the caring responses or appreciation they seek fail to be realized.” Consequently, the same people will experience recurrent break ups, escalating their stress levels which, occasionally, cause depression. (Athena Staik