Consistent with the founders of attachment theory, especially Mary Ainsworth, William Sears teaches that a strong mother-child-attachment emerges from contingency, that is, when mother and child are attuned to each other, which in turn is based on the mother's sensitivity. Since the mother "reads" the signals of her infant, Sears speaks in this context of "baby reading". Another metaphor that he uses is "to be in the groove".
