Patterns of Attachment - Classic Edition - A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher

Patterns of Attachment reports the methods and key results of Mary D. Salter Ainsworth’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study, building on naturalistic home observations in Uganda. The work offers enduring findings on the child–primary caregiver tie, the role of early experience, and widely applicable conceptual and methodological issues. Across age-appropriate assessment, quantifying behavior, and understanding individual differences, it clarifies core attachment concepts and demonstrates the value of ethological approaches. It also introduces a growing set of behavioral and narrative measures from infancy to adulthood.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages148

Reading Time6 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Preface (2015)

Preface (1978)

PART I: Introduction

Introduction 1

1 Theoretical Background 3

Attachment Theory as a New Paradigm 3

The Behavioral System 5

Attachment and Attachment Behaviors 17

Emotion and Affect in Attachment Theory 19

The Development of Child–Mother Attachment 22

PART II: Method

Introduction 29

2 Procedures 31

The Strange Situation Procedure 32

3 Measures and Methods of Assessment 45

Percentage Measures of Behavior 45

Frequency Measures 46

Scoring of Interactive Behavior 49

Classification of Infants in Terms of Their Strange Situation Behavior 55

PART III: Results

4 Descriptive Account of Behavior in Each Episode 67

Episode 1 67

Episode 2 67

Episode 3 68

Episode 4 71

Episode 5 73

Episode 6 75

Episode 7 76

Episode 8 77

5 Normative Trends Across Episodes 80

Intersample and Sex Differences 81

Exploratory Behaviors 81

Crying 8

PATTERNS OF ATTACHMENT Patterns of Attachment reports the methods and key results of Mary D. Salter Ainsworth’s landmark Baltimore Longitudinal Study. Following upon her naturalistic home observations in Uganda, the Baltimore project yielded a wealth of enduring, benchmark results on the nature of the child’s tie to its primary caregiver and the importance of early experience. It also addressed a wide range of conceptual and methodological issues common to many developmental and longitudinal projects, especially issues of age appropriate assessment, quantifying behavior, and comprehending individual differences. Ainsworth and her students also broke new ground by clarifying key attachment concepts and demonstrating the value of ethological methods and insights about behavior. Today, as we enter the fourth generation of attachment study, we have a rich and growing catalogue of behavioral and narrative approaches to measuring attachment from infancy to adulthood. Each of these has roots in the Strange Situation and the secure base concept presented in Patterns of Attachment. Its inclusion in the Psychology Press Classic Editions series reflects Patterns of Attachment ’s continuing significance and insures its availability to new generations of students, researchers, and clinicians. Mary D. Salter Ainsworth , Ph.D., was Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Mary C. Blehar, Ph.D., is affiliated with the National Institutes of Health. Everett Waters, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Sally N. Wall , Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Psychology Press and Routledge Classic Editions The Psychology Press and Routledge Classic Editions series celebrates a commitment to excellence in scholarship, teaching, and learning within the field of Psychology. The books in this series are widely recognized as timeless classics, of continuing importance for both students and researchers. Each title contains a completely new introduction which explores what has changed since the books were first published, where the field might go from here, and why these books are as relevant now as ever. Written by recognized experts, and covering core areas of the subject, the Psychology Press and Routledge Classic Editions series presents fundamental ideas to a new generation. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception (Classic Edition) By James J. Gibson Essentials of Human Memory (Classic Edition) By Alan Baddeley Uncommon Understanding (Classic Edition): Development and Disorders of Language Comprehension in Children By D. V.M. Bishop Essential Cognitive Psychology (Classic Edition) By Alan J. Parkin Human Cognitive Neuropsychology (Classic Edition) By Andrew W. Ellis and Andrew W. Young Lev Vygotsky (Classic Edition): Revolutionary Scientist By Fred Newman and Lois Holzman The New Psychology of Language (Classic Edition): Cognitive and Functional Approaches To Language Structure, Volume I Edited by Michael Tomasello The New Psychology of Language (Classic Edition): Cognitive and Functional Approaches To Language Structure, Volume II Edited by Michael Tomasello Principles of Learning and Memory (Classic Edition) By Robert G. Crowder Psychologists on Psychology (Classic Edition) By David Cohen PATTERNS OF ATTACHMENT A Psychological Study of the Strange Situation Classic Edition Mary D. Salter Ainsworth, Mary C. Blehar, Everett Waters, and Sally N. Wall Classic edition published 2015 by Psychology Press 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Psychology Press 27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA Psychology Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Taylor & Francis The right of Mary D. Salter Ainsworth, Mary C. Blehar, Everett Waters, and Sally N. Wall to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted

FAQs

What study methods and results does Patterns of Attachment report?

It summarizes methods and benchmark results from Ainsworth’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study, building on naturalistic home observations in Uganda. The book focuses on how early experience shapes the child’s tie to the primary caregiver.

How does the Strange Situation fit into attachment research?

The contents describe the Strange Situation Procedure as a core method. It supports assessment and classification of infants based on their behavior across episodes.

What assessment approaches does the book use to measure attachment-related behavior?

It presents procedures and measures including percentage measures, frequency measures, scoring of interactive behavior, and classification in terms of Strange Situation behavior.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher