Mary Ainsworth: Insightful Observer and Courageous Theoretician

TL;DR: Ainsworth's pioneering work has changed conceptions of infant-mother relationships and by extension, conceptions of human relationships more generally as discussed by the authors, and she is commonly credited with providing supporting empirical evidence for the theory whereas Bowlby is regarded as creating its basic framework.

Abstract: Mary Ainsworth’s pioneering work has changed conceptions of infant-mother relationships, and by extension, conceptions of human relationships more generally. As John Bowlby’s major collaborator in the development of attachment theory, she is commonly credited with providing supporting empirical evidence for the theory whereas Bowlby is regarded as creating its basic framework. This view is too simple. Ainsworth’s innovative approach to studying the development of relationships not only made it possible to put some of Bowlby’s ideas to empirical test, but her insights expanded the theory itself in fundamental ways. Among her major contributions are the concept of the attachment figure as a secure base from which an infant can explore the world, the identification of patterns of infant-mother attachment as indicators of relationship quality, and the concept of parental sensitive responsiveness to infant signals as precursor to secure attachment. Without this work, attachment theory and research would not have attained the importance they currently hold in developmental and social psychology.