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MARY AINSWORTH: ATTACHMENT AND THE GROWTH OF LOVE With Robert Marvin, Ph.D.
2005 (38 min) $250.
ISBN: 1-891340-45-X View a short clip from this film. Visit our Support Materials section to view or download the Learning Guide and Discussion Topics for this film.
Understanding the importance of early experiences of attachment has become
basic for the work of clinical and developmental psychologists as well as
social workers and medical professionals. Mary Ainsworth’s fieldwork
supported the
Film content: Mary Ainsworth’s biography The lifetime importance of attachment relationships. The origins of attachment theory in psychoanalysis and anthropology. Dr. Ainsworth’s observational studies in Uganda and Baltimore. The Strange Situation, a laboratory assessment procedure for young children and a parent. The four attachment relationships as captured by the Strange Situation. Secure Base/Haven of Safety.
The Adult Attachment Interview developed by Judith Solomon and
Mary Main. Developmental pathways.
Visuals: Archival film of Drs. Bowlby and Ainsworth speaking of their work. A clip from James Robertson’s A TWO YEAR OLD GOES TO HOSPITAL. Film sequence from the Harlow monkey research. Photos from Dr. Ainsworth’s observational studies in Uganda and Baltimore. Two Strange Situation assessments. Animations of insecure attachment relationships as seen in the Strange Situation. Infants at home, newborns to year old children. The Adult Attachment Interview.
Mary Ainsworth’s Life: Mary Ainsworth was born in Ohio in 1913. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Toronto. She served in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps in World War II. She worked at the Tavistock Clinic in London under John Bowlby. She lived in Uganda in the late 1940’s doing observational studies of mothers and children. Associated with Johns Hopkins University, she did similar observational studies in Baltimore and developed the Strange Situation She ended her career at the University of Virginia. She died in 1999.
Consultant: Robert Marvin, Ph.D. worked as an undergraduate for Mary Ainsworth, participating in her Baltimore observational studies and the early use of the Strange Situation. He became a life time friend and colleague. Dr. Marvin has taught at the University of Virginia and directs the Mary D. Ainsworth Child-Parent Attachment Clinic associated with that university. He is also involved with the Circle of Security intervention program.
Published Reviews of this Film: The film, “Mary Ainsworth: Attachment and the Growth of Love” is simply superb. Not only does it beautifully portray the career of Ainsworth, one of the most significant social scientists of the last century, but it also provides a lucid tutorial on attachment theory and assessment. The film is wonderfully narrated by Robert Marvin, and the graphics are extraordinary. It is perfect for classroom presentation because it is clear, authoritative, and completely accurate. Instructors need spend no time correcting misinformation as happens so often with films made for classroom use. Furthermore, by tracing the history of Ainsworth’s work from Africa to Baltimore to Virginia, the film dispels many misconceptions about attachment theory; for example that it has a Eurocentric bias. Viewers will learn a great deal about infant-caregiver attachment and its origins in sensitive care. The case chosen to illustrate secure attachment is perfect, and the films in the Strange Situation are completely clear. Any viewer can see what is meant by “secure base” behavior, “haven of safety”, and “attachment-exploration balance”. They also will get an understanding about how the assessment procedure should be assessed. Finally, the animations of avoidant, resistant, and disorganized attachment are most instructive. This was a superior solution to the showing actual insecure cases, which is difficult to justify ethically, and showing faked procedures. The presentation was completely understandable. This film will be excellent for use in the classroom, for research training, and for workshops designed for professionals in many fields. It would be valuable viewing for social workers, clinical psychologists, pediatricians, daycare providers, preschool teachers and others. It is highly recommended. -- Alan Sroufe, William Harris Professor of Child Psychology, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
This DVD describes the life and work of Mary D. Ainsworth, Ph.D., one of the most important researchers of attachment theory. The biographical information explains how Ainsworth’s work stemmed from her personal search to understand and have attachments in her own life. The focus of her work is described by the narrator as the “scientific study of love and how it develops.” Ainsworth was heavily influenced by the work of John Bowlby, M.D., who realized that human attachments are formed, based on the tie between infant and caregiver. A primary focus of this DVD is Ainsworth’s extensive observations of interactions between infants and their primary caregivers (usually mothers), in both natural and experimental situations. The behaviors and patterns discovered by Ainsworth through these studies, and the implications on human love relationships throughout the course of a lifetime, were a significant contribution to psychology. The DVD is narrated by Robert Marvin, Ph.D., now Director of the Mary D. Ainsworth Child-Parent Attachment Clinic, University of Virginia Medical Center. The quality is good and includes personal historical photographs of Ainsworth, film and animation of experiments from the Baltimore Study, photographs of Ainsworth working amongst mothers and their children in Uganda from the Uganda Study, and more. The narrator has a particularly valuable perspective having worked with Ainsworth for many years beginning as an undergraduate psychology student. The progression of Ainsworth’s research and career is well documented in this short DVD. It ends with a brief adult attachment interview and explanation, which seemed underdeveloped. Adding another few minutes on adult attachment issues, discussing theories and successful solutions further, would have brought the topic full-circle. Recommended – particularly for college students in Psychology. -- Robin Migliaccio Ashford, reference Librarian, Watzek Library, Lewis & Clark college, Portland, OR
Related film: JOHN BOWLBY: ATTACHMENT THEORY ACROSS GENERATIONS Part of the GIANTS OF PSYCHOLOGY series
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