644 vI. SELF‑ AND S OCIAL P ROCESSES
self-worth and the availability and accessi -
bility of significant others.
Individual Differences  
in Infant Attachment  Patterns
Although Bowlby believed that the basic 
processes illustrated in Figure 30.1 charac -
terize the normative dynamics of the attach -
ment behavioral system, he recognized that 
there are individual differences in the way 
children appraise the accessibility of their 
attachment figures and regulate their at -
tachment behavior in response to a threat. 
However, it was not until his colleague, 
Mary Ainsworth, began to study infant– 
parent separations systematically that a 
more complete and empirically informed un -
derstanding of these individual differences 
was established. Ainsworth and her students 
(Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) 
developed a technique called the “Strange 
Situation” to study infant–  parent attach -
ment. In the Strange Situation, 12-month-old infants and their parents are brought to 
the laboratory and systematically separated 
and reunited in a series of 3-minute scripted 
episodes. Most children (i.e., about 60% in 
middle-  class samples) behave in the way im -
plied by Bowlby’s normative theory; that is, 
they become upset when their parent leaves 
the room, but when he or she returns, they 
actively seek the parent and are easily com -
forted. Children who exhibit this pattern of 
behavior are often called secure.
Other children (about 20% or less) are ill 
at ease initially, and upon separation, be -
come extremely distressed. When reunited 
with their parents, they have difficulty being 
soothed and often exhibit conflicting behav -
iors that suggest that they want to be com -
forted but also want to “punish” their parent 
for leaving. These children are often called 
anxious–  resistant.  The third pattern of at -
tachment (shown by around 20% of chil -
dren) is called avoidant . Avoidant children 
do not appear to be overly distressed by the 
separation and, upon reunion, actively avoid Is the 
caregiv er
near, attentiv e,
responsiv e, etc.?Felt 
securit y, 
love,
confiden cePlayful, less 
inhibited, smiling, 
sociableYes
No
Separation  
distress and 
anxiety 
experienced
Attachme nt behav iors are 
activated to some degree, 
ranging from simple visual 
monitoring  to intense 
protest, clinging, and 
searchin g
FIGURE 30.1. An illustration of the basic control mechanisms underlying Bowlby’s conceptualization of 
the attachment behavioral system.