ABSTRACT
Investigations of infant attachment are proving fruitful for understanding the general pattern of close personal relationships across the life span. This line of work began with Bowlby's (1969) general theory of attachment, and Ainsworth's (1973) observation of human infants who had been exposed to brief periods of separation from their mothers in an unfamiliar environment. When separated from their mothers for 2 minutes in a strange situation, virtually all human infants exhibit some form of protest and/or distress. When their mother returns 2 minutes later, however, this universal behavior gives way to marked individual differences. The most common response is to approach the mother eagerly for comfort; then, after a period of reassurance (occasionally mixed with mild aggression on the baby's part), to return to playing with the interesting objects that the novel environment contains. Two other responses are frequently seen as well. In the first, babies actively avoid their mothers, even if they attempt to engage the infants. In the second, babies exhibit prolonged ambivalence: approaching their mothers and soliciting comfort, but then refusing comfort when it is offered and behaving in a "whiny" or "clingy" fashion (Ainsworth, Bell, & Stayton, 1971). Finally, a third (relatively infrequent) response has recently been identified, in which babies freeze or act in a disorganized fashion (Main & Hesse 1990; Main & Solomon, 1980). Due to limitations of space, this final response is not analyzed in this chapter.
