Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth Attachment Theory

Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth, an American-Canadian developmental psychologist known for her work on the development of attachment theory, is credited with the design of the strange situation procedure to analyze the psychological attachment between a child and its mother or caregiver which was used to advance the theory which many still look at today. A bit of history on Mary helps us understand her and the understanding she had on the subject. Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio and raised in Canada being the oldest of her four sisters. Her mother and father were graduates of Dickinson College and focused a lot on proper education for their children. Ainsworth graduated from high school interested in earning a degree in psychology and later enrolled …show more content…
During her time in England, Ainsworth participated in research at Tavistock Clinic, it was here where she worked with John Bowlby. Their research focused on examining what effects interference in the mother and child bond may have on the development of the child. Ainsworth later traveled to Kampala, Uganda where she worked at the East African Institute for Social Research, continuing her exploration into the significance of the mother-child bond. Unfortunately, Ainsworth and her husband divorced in 1960 due to complications. Ainsworth also taught at John Hopkins University from 1959 until 1975, when she accepted a position as professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. After many other academic positions, including her long tenure at Johns Hopkins University, she eventually settled at the University of Virginia in 1975, where she remained for the rest of her academic career until 1984. She died on March 21, 1999 at the age of eighty-five due to a stroke. Despite her passing, her work is still looked at today and what she is most known for is her work on attachment