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Attachment in infants essay
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Candice Ogbu Ms. Livingston English 1101 24 September 2017 Attachment Theory Attachment is an emotional bond between two people regardless of space and time. The father of the psychological theory of attachment, John Bowlby, once said,” Attachment is characterized by specific behavior in children, such as seeking proximity with the attachment figure when upset or threatened.” Although scientists believe a child's development depends on their parenthood, the theory of attachment explains how children are pre-exposed to form attachments. The behaviorist concept of attachment is best explained as a learned trait the infant has to the attachment figure. The concept is supported by the 1950s research of Neal E. Dollard and John Miller. Their social learning curve contains four processes to overcome which include drive, cue, response, and reward. The first process, drive, explains what the infant what's which can consist of food and water. For instance, if an infant is hunger then it will be motivated to get food from the closet source. The child is hunger so it will have a drive to …show more content…
J. R. Harris, a well known contradictor, explains how Bowlby theory of attachment is false because of the nature versus nurture ruling. Nature is the genetics passed down from the parents, but nurture is the way parents bring the child up. Harris believes that most psychologist misuse nurture for environment rather than parental guidance. She believes, along with genes, parental upbringing can determine how you will later develop. For instance, if a child grows up in a bad neighborhood, but was brought up nicely by his parents then the overwhelming sensation of fitting in would lead him down the wrong path. In Bowlby’s theory the well- trained parents would be to blame, but it is evident that the pressure from peers are at fault. Harrie’s argument contradicts the findings of
Attachment is an important aspect through the developmental stages of a child. It is the process through which an individual develops specific bonds with others (). John Bowlby theorized Attachment Theory, which focuses on a behavioral system that demonstrates the response of an adult when a child signals which can lead to a strong trusting relationship (). Through attachment infants develop strong emotional bonds with others, which can result in a more positive outcome later in life.
What 's more, attachment theory makes the suggestion that a person 's ability to formulate these "attachments" with others is directly related to their overall sense of security, which is necessary for developing skills that allow a person to develop and grow as a unique personality. Attachment theory itself first originated with the work of John Bowlby during the 1960 's, and was further adapted upon by Mary Ainsworth. At the time, Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in an Orphanage located in London, where he worked with numerous emotionally disturbed children. This experience led Bowlby to consider the importance of the child’s relationship with their mother in terms of their social, emotional and cognitive development ( 2 ). But what really interested Bowlby was the significance between early childhood separations from the mother, and how these separations would further manifest as maladjustments in the child 's life. Interestingly, Bowlby noted [that] children who were exposed to prolonged periods of deprivation, were essentially “affectionless” ( 3 ). This affectionless state of mind is critical for us to understand when we take into account the probable causes of children growing up into societal
Attachment theory focuses on the bond between a caregiver and a child and how these fragile bonds, if not attended to properly have psychological and social effects on the child’s future. The attachment process itself responds to the developing identity of the child, which is very dependent on the sensitivity and guidance of the caregiver. John Bowlby takes attachment theory in a more biological/ evolutionary perspective, in which he views these formations of bonds as a survival mechanism in which the infant ensures its survival by attaching themselves to an adult (caregiver) who can meet their needs. This take on the attachment theory suggests that parents and infants may be biologically programmed to form an attachment and that every interaction and behavior thereafter facilitates the creation of this bond (Ashford 2013, 266). On a bio-social level children look for this attachment because they are biologically wired to be related to others and be social creatures. Regardless if the attachment theory is taken through a biological,
Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981). Differences in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person.
In understanding others, one must first understand our own family background and how it affects our understanding of the world. Conversely, family systems draw on the view of the family as an emotional unit. Under system thinking, one evaluates the parts of the systems in relation to the whole meaning behavior becomes informed by and inseparable from the functioning of one’s family of origin. These ideas show that individuals have a hard time separating from the family and the network of relationships. With a deeper comprehension of the family of origin helps with the challenges and awareness of normalized human behaviors. When interviewing and analyzing the family of origin, allow one to look at their own family of origin
Admittedly, many psychologists define attachment as an enduring, affectionate bond that one person forms between himself and another person throughout life. Mary Ainsworth provided the most famous research: strange situation, offering explanations of individual differences in attachment. However, in this Adult Attachment Style questionnaire that I took, I found many factors relevant to attachment as defined in the textbook. For example, in the textbook, it defines attachment based on Ainsworth research, the strange situation by observing attachment forms between mother and infants. They are described in four attachment styles: securely attached, insecure avoidant, insecure resistant, and insecure disorganized.
The affiliative system can only activate when the attachment system is terminated. Owen was socializing with another student in the school environment, he decided to share his frog stuffed animal which was a familiar possession of his that helped mitigate the intensity of his response to being separated from his attachment figure (Bowlby, 1969/1982). He seemed content by the illustrations in the book. He also shared his favorite crayon with others which was a continued social and exploratory system activation as is when he played with other toys and on the playground with his peers. As the students are coloring, he made a mistake, and mother states that she loves him even when he makes mistakes. Due to my assumption about Owen’s age range being around three years old, it is easy to infer that his attachment demands have decreased. With his exploratory system and affiliative system being activated, interests other than his mother were able to grasp his attention and occupy his time and there is less that alarms him (Bowlby, 1969/1982). Owen was able to regulate himself when he was having a rough time throughout the school
Attachment theory states that a strong emotional and physical attachment or emotional bonding with at least one primary caregiver who is perceived as a source of security is critical to personal development of close, caring, and enduring relationships. Children who have not developed a secure attachment to their caregiver/parent are put at a great disadvantage for adulthood. Children unable to develop coping and social skills may never be able to properly attach to a partner, while secure attachment leads to a sense of being loved which results in safeguards against fear, insecurity, and inadequacy. Childhood insecurity or attachment difficulties lead to future intimate relationship problems; conversely, secure attachments lead to a positive
Attachment is described as the close emotional bond between two people and Attachment Theory (AT) generally concentrates on the early bonds in a person’s development as well as the effects that these bonds have on later socio-emotional development. While emphasis on attachment as an antecedent for future behavior and personality has decreased somewhat in recent years, it is interesting to note that the DSM IV-TR includes a “reactive attachment disorder” which it states is caused when extreme circumstances prevent proper attachment development.
He concluded that the infant initiates the bonding sequence, but it is the mother’s behaviors that strengthen their bonding (Hutchinson, 2013). Mary Ainsworth was Bowlby’s most famous collaborator in explaining human attachment and conducted experiments that demonstrated that affectional bonds between infants and caregivers are persistent and not transitory (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters & Wall, 1978). As a result of his upbringing in an upper-middle-class family in London, which included a nanny, an absent mother, and boarding school by the age of seven, as well as the time he spent working as a volunteer in a school for maladjusted children, John Bowlby developed the attachment theory (Bretherton, 1992). His conclusion, based on his research and available empirical evidence, was that for an infant and young child to grow up mentally healthy, they should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with their mother or permanent caregiver. If this could be accomplished, both the child and the caregiver would experience satisfaction and enjoyment (Bowlby, 1951)....
The attachment theory, presented by Mary Ainsworth in 1969 and emerged by John Bowlby suggests that the human infant has a need for a relationship with an adult caregiver, and without a subsequent, development can be negatively impacted (Hammonds 2012). Ainsworth proposes that the type of relationship and “attachment” an infant has with the caregiver, can impact the social development of the infant. As stated by Hammonds (2012), attachment between a mother and a child can have a great impact on the child 's future mental
David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the “Son of Sam”, was notorious for his crimes committed between 1976 and 1977 that ended the lives of six innocent victims and wounded several others in New York (“David Berkowitz Biography”, n.d.). At first, police did not make a connection between the murders because there was nothing unusual about them; all the victims were shot with a 40 caliber gun, not fairly unusual during this time or place especially since the killings were over an extended period of time. Police finally made the connection when Berkowitz began to live behind notes that were meant to tantalize authorities since they had yet to catch him (“David Berkowitz| Son of Sam Killer,” 2015). Often times, the psychological structure of a human
To understand the attachment theory, we must understand a clear definition of what attachment is. According to merriam-webster.com attachment is the physical connection by which one thing is attached to another. From my point of view, attachment is the lasting bond between child/children to their belonging primary caregiver.
John Bowlby's theory of attachment, the emotional attachments of infants and toddlers to their caregivers were based on social interactions not on physical gratifications, and that they were built into a human being as a result of adaptation during early evolution (Mercer, 23). Social interact and relationship impact young children's personality development. For example, a child who experiences a positive attachment would most likely to have a positive attachment in his or her relationship in the future. Whereas a child who has no attachment or experiences negative attachment seem likely to have a negative attachment with others. Furthermore, the book, Understanding Attachment, written by Jean Mercer, agreed that "Harlow's studies substantiated Bowlby's belief that early experiences with caregivers could set a direction for good, or poor, social and emotional development (Mercer, 36). Both Harlow and Bowlby studies are a relation to the social interaction between the mother and her child, and the child and his or her caregiver
John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist, he describes attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p.194), he believed that the earliest bonds that were formed between child and caregiver has a huge impact that continues throughout the infants life. Attachment is said to help keep the infant close to their mother, so it improves the child’s chance of survival.