A test developed and standardised by Mary D. Salter Ainsworth in which a stranger approaches an infant with and without the caregiver being present together with two brief separations, and various aspects of the infant‚was behaviour are measured. Three classes of attachment patterns were originally identified by Ainsworth based on the behavior of 10-24 month-old infants: Insecure-avoidant (or A) in which the infant turns or moves away from the parent upon reunion, the mood is ‘flat’, and play is not effective or animated, secure (or B) in which the infant is happy to see the parent upon reunion, settles if distressed and re-embarks on animated play, and insecure-resistant/ambivalent (or C) in which the infant not only seeks contact, but also rejects it (either angrily or passively) when offered, and remains upset and ineffectual at play. In the 1986, Mary Main and Judith Solomon added another category, referred to as a disorganized/disoriented (or D) pattern of infant-caregiver attachment and seen in about 10% of low-risk, middle class and some 50% of high-risk (especially for maltreatment) samples. Such infants showed marked and pervasive fear in the presence of the parent, and a consequent loss of behavioral and attentional strategies, often associated with a caretaker prone to unpredictable and frightening behavior. At subsequent ages, evidence suggests they have severe problems in forming social relationships and cognitive deficits, followed by dissociative and behavioral problems in late adolescence (as indicated by self-reports and teacher ratings).
See Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), Attachment, Attachment theory, Insecure attachment, Social attachment