One of the most important factors that affect child development is the relationship of the child with their primary caregiver. This is a tenet of developmental psychology known as attachment theory. John Bowlby, the creator of this theory, wanted to examine how early childhood experiences influence personality development. Attachment theory specifically examines infant’s reactions to being separated from their primary caregiver. Bowlby hypothesized that the differences in how children react to these situations demonstrates basic behavioral differences in infancy that will have consequences for later social and emotional development. To study attachment theory, Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Paradigm. This procedure examines the reaction of the infant when their primary caregiver leaves them for up to three minutes. The emotional response of the child to being left alone and the behavior of the child when the caregiver reappears are coded on a seven point rating scale. Based on these scores children are divided into three categories which illustrate the quality of the attachment. Securely attached children are confident in their relationship with their primary caregiver, and are not afraid to explore new things. In the Strange Situation, these infants are less distressed during separation and happy to see their caregiver during the reunion and will often make contact with them. Infants with an insecure-avoidant attachment are characterized by a lack of positive affect toward their primary caregiver. They are less distressed during the separation than most infants, and reserve their emotional response not for their caregiver but for toys or the experimenter. Infants with insecure-ambivalent or resistan... ... middle of paper ... ...t. Child Development, 62, 906-917. Joseph, R. (1999). Environmental Influences on Neural Plasticity, the Limbic System, Emotional Development and Attachment: A Review. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 29. Koran-Karie, N., Oppenheim, D., Dolev, S., Sher, E., & Etzion-Carasso, A. (2002). Mothers’ Insightfulness Regarding Their Infants’ Internal Experience: Relations With Maternal Sensitivity and Infant Attachment. Developmental Psychology, 38, 534-542. Meins, E., Fernyhough, C., Wainwright, R., Gupta, M. D., Fradley, E., & Tuckey, M. (2002, November/December). Maternal mind-mindedness and attachment security as predictors of theory of mind understanding. Child Development, 73, 1715-1726. Sonkin, D. J. (2005, January/February). Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy. The Therapist. Retrieved from http://www.danielsonkin.com/attachment_psychotherapy.htm
This report aims to discuss John Bowlby’s research on attachment. The study revolves around infants and their primary caregivers, properly addressing the attachment level between them, and how they interact with each other. With thorough observations, this study will be able to determine how attachment affects the infant’s sense of security and predetermine their future behavior.
Relationships are the building block for personality and are significant in children’s ability to grow into substantial individuals who can thrive in an often harsh world. Constructing lasting and fulfilling relationships is an integral part to development as the interpersonal bonds forged are not only highly sought after but also set the ground work for all upcoming expressive interactions. Relationships and attachment go hand in hand as attachment is the strong and lasting linkage established between a child and his or her caregiver. Moreover, attachment significantly influences a large capacity of ones make up as it these first relationships that teaches morals, builds self-esteem, and develops a support system. The pioneers of Attachment Theory realized early on that human beings are not solely influenced by drives but that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers greatly impact their ability to forge lasting relationships later in life. John Bowlby was first to introduce this theory to the masses in the 1950’s, and later Mary Ainsworth conducted further research to expand on Bowlby’s theory which proclaims that attachment is a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). The attachment bond theory by both Bowlby and Ainsworth focuses on the significance of the relationship between babies and their caretakers which research has suggested is accountable for influencing impending interactions, firming or injuring our capabilities to concentrate, being aware of our emotional states, self-soothing capabilities, and the capacity to be resilient in the face of hardship. Additionally, this research has provided a framework for assisting in describing these att...
The concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the right help, this child may harbor these ill feelings for life.
An infant’s initial contact with the world and their exploration of life is directly through the parent/ primary caregiver. As the child grows, learns, and develops, a certain attachment relationship forms between them and the principle adult present in this process. Moreover, this attachment holds huge implications concerning the child’s future relationships and social successes. Children trust that their parental figure will be there; as a result, children whom form proper attachments internalize an image of their world as stable, safe, and secure. These children will grow independent while at the same time maintaining a connection with their caregivers. (Day, 2006). However, when a child f...
(Early infant attachment is an important phenomena to study as it is connected to later child development). Early infant attachment is linked to cognitive, social, and emotional development (Pallini, Baiocco, Schneider, Madigan, & Atkinson, 2014). These three developmental aspects are significant in one’s later mental process capabilities, the relationships formed later in life, as well as their psychological stability. The attachments formed with caregivers in infancy are vital. Bowlby stated, “It is our first relationship, usually with our mother, that much of our future well-being is determined” (O’Gorman, 2012). It’s crucial for a child’s development to look at parenting styles and early infant attachment classifications which are made to caregivers. Most research focuses around mother-infant attachment making little known about the relationships made with fathers.
It has been proposed that infant attachment styles do not change after the first year of life, the following essay will argue against this prompt in that ones attachment style will change continuously throughout life. Attachment theory is based on the joint work of Bowlby and Ainsworth (Bretherton, 1992). In recent years the idea of ‘attachment’ has become and increasingly popular debate within developmental psychology (Bretherton, 1992). Attachment theory provides an explanation on how parent and child relationships are formed and the important role they play in child development. However majority of the research into attachment has focused on identifying the stability of attachment rather then identifying the possible insatiability of
According to (Pittman, Keiley, & Kerpelman, 2011), Bowlby theorized that it is the interactions between people that form connections and develop attachments. There are four different types of attachments; secure, avoidant, and anxious ambivalent. When we look at this theory applied to children we see that a secure attachment is when children are most comfortable when their parents are around and are easy to soothe by the parents. Insecure or avoidant attachment is when the child doesn’t prefer to be near the parents and could care less if the parents are absent. This happened when the parents failed to meet their child’s needs, despite a child expressing their needs. Anxious ambivalent attachment is when the child won’t leave their parents side, even if it is to explore their surroundings, is distraught if the parents leave, and mistrusting if the parents try to comfort after leaving (Arnett, & Maynard,
In the Strange Situation 12 to 18 month olds undergo multiple phases to determine their attachment style (Ainsworth et al., 1978). The infant is placed in a novel environment where multiple stages take place including: the infant and caregiver interacting, introduction of a new individual, caregiver leaving and stranger attempting to comfort the child and finally the mother returning and the stranger leaving (Ainsworth et al., 1978). In another trial the mother leaves again and the stranger returns and tries to interact with the child then the mother returns for the final time (Ainsworth et al., 1978). The reunion between the mother and infant and the way the child reacts determines the type of attachment the child has to the caregiver (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Secure infants represent that majority and use the caregiver as a secure base, seek them out when they are absent and are comforted when the caregiver returns (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Insecure-avoidant infants are not dependent upon the caregiver when navigating the environment, nor do they depend upon them when distressed (Ainsworth et al., 1978). Insecure-resistant infants will often act needy and dependable but reject the caregiver when they interact, they do not obtain security from the caregiver and consequently does not
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
Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)
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.
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
Attachment theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver. The theory proved that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social and emotional development in an infant. It is critical for this to occur in the child’s early infant years. However, failed to prove that this nurturing can only be given by a mother (Birns, 1999, p. 13). Many aspects of this theory grew out of psychoanalyst, John Bowlby’s research. There are several other factors that needed to be taken into account before the social worker reached a conclusion; such as issues surrounding poverty, social class and temperament. These factors, as well as an explanation of insecure attachment will be further explored in this paper.
John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure, insecure/resistant, insecure/avoidant and disorganized/disoriented, later leading to research studies done to observe this behavior and how it affects a child in their adolescence and adulthood.
A number of studies focused on the mother- infant relationship and the effect of child care on the development of such relationship (Belsky, 1989; Lamb, Sternberg, & Prodromidis, 1992). Attachment theory indicates that a secure relation formation between child and caregiver is important for the child to develop flexible behavioural system and adapt easily to new situations. Bowlby (quoted by Lamb, Sternberg, & Prodromidis) summarised that attachments form around middle of the first year and are strengthened later in the year. It comes as no surprise that studies done by Barglow, Vaughn, & Molitor (1987); Belsky & Rovine (1988); Vaughn, Gove, & Egeland, (1980) , as quoted by Egeland & Heister (1995), reported that entry of infants before 12 months of age to child day care is linked to increased risk of insecure-avoidant attachment. Assessments were based on Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (Ainswoth, Blehar, Water, & Wall, 1978) to measure the infant-mother attachment. While these children might not reject attention from parents, they also did not seek comfort, showing no preference between a parent and a complete stranger.