The Strange Situation and Attachment Theory

This video shows an example of 'secure' attachment


This one shows 'secure', 'avoidant', and 'resistant' styles of attachment.


Ainsworth has done considerable amount of work with Bowlby's proposal of 'Attachment theory' (which I consider to be a grandchild of Freud's psychoanalysis). Attachment theory is preceded by Piaget's 'Developmentl Stage Theory' and comes out around the same time as Erik Erikson's psycho-social stages theory.

Look up Ainsworth & Bell (1970) and Ainsworth (1978)

I write more on this here - commenting on the film 'We Need to Talk About Kevin'

There has also been cross-cultural studies on 'attachment theory', which are also quite interesting; provides commentary on parenting styles and whether attachment theory is appropriate to categorize parent-child relatioships in a universal manner.

Attachment theory also states that these "styles" persist throughout our lives and affect our romantic relationships.

Lee A. Kirkpatrick applies 'attachment theory' to religion and places it within an evolutionary context in his book: Attachment, Evolution, and the Psychology of Religion

Margaret Stroebe (2002) provides a good overview of Bowlby's attachment theory and applies it to "grief work" and bereavement.