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Attachment, Exploration, and Separation: Illustrated by the Behaviour of One-Year-Olds in a

Strange Situation

Mary D. Ainsworth and Silvia M. Bell

Submitted by:
Carmela Arcilla, Margaret De Leon, and Aliki Siao
De La Salle University
Child Development
January 22, 2019
The purpose of this article was to highlight features of the ethological-revolutionary

concept of attachment through the illustration of interactions between infant’s attachment

behaviour and exploration, separation anxiety, and fear of strange situations. The article begins

by defining some key terms such as the word attachment. According to Bowlby and Ainsworth

(1964, 1967, 1969), attachment is an “affectional” tie (in the form of seeking to maintain or gain

physical contact or communication) that an individual has with himself or another person. In

relation to an infant, attachment behaviours include approaching, following, clinging, smiling,

crying, calling, and so forth. The article argues that attachment behaviours indicate a genetic bias

toward becoming attached and does not vanish over time.

From the context of evolutionary theory, infant-mother attachment may be viewed as a

means for survival of species. Infants look to their mothers for protection and nurturance in this

period of meek defencelessness. In the same manner, exploratory behaviour is equally significant

such that infants interest in novel situations and features of the environment promote learning

and knowledge acquisition at the very young stage. The balance of both attachment and

exploratory behaviours essential in the development of an infant is has been widely explored in

the study of infant-mother interaction.

Many studies have been conducted about the balance of attachment and exploration

behaviours of infants that make use of strange situations in contrived laboratory environments.

For this particular study, 56 infants raised by white middle-class parents were used as

participants to observe the extent to which mothers are used as a secure base from which the

infant could explore a strange environment. The results of the study revealed
The study revealed that in response to novelty, infants are more likely to approach and

explore new environments or stimuli when the infant’s mother is present. Infants are less likely

to exhibit fear and avoidance of novel stimuli as the presence of the mother serves as a secure

base from which to explore strange situations. In contrast, the absence of the mother heightens

feelings of fear, thus resulting to avoidance and withdrawing behaviours toward the unfamiliar.

More so, upon the subsequent return of the object of attachment after a period of prolonged

absence, attachment is not diminished and attachment behaviours are likely to re-emerge again

upon reunion. The same results have been observed in other field studies of both humans and

nonhuman subjects.

Although I am not a mother, this article has been relatable to me, especially in my line of

work. As an individual who regularly works with children ages 2 to 12, this article has been very

insightful for me as I strive to encourage and motivate children to learn new things every day.

This article supports the idea that having a supportive and nurturing environment is crucial in the

early years of a person to promote healthy discovery and acquisition of new information through

various stimuli around them. Through this article, I am more motivated to continue to serve as a

secure base from which children can explore his or her surroundings when their mother is not

around. As a teacher, my role is not only to teach children by telling stories and introducing new

words, but also to facilitate their own individual learning by reinforcing them to explore on their

own. By doing so, I hope to be able to aid in the healthy development of children in my own

little ways.

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