Attachment TheoriesBowlby

Ainsworth

V.M. WESTERBERG

Attachment Definition

A strong emotional and social bond of trust between child and

caregiver.

Very important for social and emotional development.

When does attachment form?

Within the 1st year of life (remember Erikson’s psycho-social theory 0-1 years: Trust vs Mistrust)

Secure attachment shows up as Trust

Insecure attachments show up as Mistrust, i.e.: wariness of strangers and strong fear of separation from caregiver.

Attachment to only the mother?

NoHowever, attachment to the

mother is usually the natural, primary attachment, but do attach to fathers and other caretakers as well.

John Bowlby’s Evolutionary Theory of Attachment

(1969)

John Bowlby (1907 - 1990) was a psychoanalyst who believed that mental health and behavioural problems could be attributed to early childhood (just like Freud)

Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children are born pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them survive.

Believed babies are born with ‘social releaser behaviours’ such as crying, smiling, babbling, cooing, and following that stimulate caregiving from adults beccause adults are biologically programmed to respond to infant’s signals.

Bowlby believed it was natural to need other people throughout the life span. (In Clinical Psychology, people who need others could have a Dependent Personality Disorder)

Bowlby (cont’d 1)Bowlby was very much influenced by

Konrad Lorenz’s Ethological (animal behaviour) Theory. Lorenz’s (1935) study of imprinting says that attachment is innate, or instinctive, for survival purposes.

Bowlby was also influenced by Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and he (Bowlby) hypothesized that infants and mothers have evolved a biological need to stay in contact with each other for survival purposes.

Bowlby (cont’d 2)Bowlby said that a child would initially

form only one attachment (with the mother) and that this main caregiver acts as a secure base the child uses for exploring the world.  This first attachment relationship acts as a prototype for all future social relationships.

Internal working models = mental representations for understanding the world, self and others. This mental representations guides the future social and emotional behaviour.

Four Stages of Attachment

1) Pre-attachment (0 - 2 months): infants do not discriminate one person from another – no fear of strangers.

2) Attachment-in-the-making (2 - 6 months): Infant prefers a particular person. Recognises their parents but do not protest when separated.

3) Clear-cut attachment (6 months – 3 years): Separation anxiety: Cry when separated from caregiver. Can be attached to several persons.

4) Goal-corrected partnership (4 yrs onwards): Understand caregiver’s schedule. Separation protests decline.

Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory

Ainsworth came up with a simple experiment to measure the attachment of an infant to the caretaker:

The Strange Situation Test – In this experiment, the caregiver is in a toy room with the child, the caregiver leaves and in comes a stranger, the child is left alone with the stranger for several minutes, and then the caregiver returns.

Four Key Observations:Exploration: to what extent does the child

explore his/her environment?

Reaction to departure: what is the child’s response when the caregiver leaves?

The stranger anxiety: how does the child respond when alone with the stranger?

Reunion: how does the child respond when the caregiver returns?

Findings Infants differ in quality or style of their

attachment to their caregivers. Most show one of four distinct patterns of

attachment:

1) Secure attachment2) Insecure-Avoidant attachment3) Insecure-Ambivalent attachment4) Disorganised attachment

Secure AttachmentMost infants (70% of 1 yr olds)

Freely explore their environment, touching base with caregiver periodically for security.

May or may not cry when separated, but when caregiver returns, crying ceases quickly.

Avoidant15%Don’t cry when separatedReacts to strangers similar to

his/her caregiverWhen returned, avoids caregiver

or is slow to greet her/him.(suspect child abuse)

Ambivalent

10%Seeks contact with their

caregiver before separationAfter caregiver returns, they first

seek her/him, then the child resists or rejects offers of comfort

Disorganised / Disoriented

5-10%

Elements of both avoidant and ambivalent (confused). The child’s reactions to caregiver’s return vary, but they are never secure.

Across cultures

Attachment styles differ.Reflect different approaches to

rearingAvoidant is higher in GermanyAmbivalent is higher in JapanSecure is the norm in New

Zealand

QUESTIONS:

What is attachment? Why is it necessary? When does attachment form? Using Erikson’s psychosocial theory: What is secure attachment? What is insecure attachment? What is Bowlby’s theory called? Bowlby was influenced by whom?(3) Bowlby believed children are pre-programmed

for what? What are social releaser behaviours? The need for security in relationships is natural

or pathological?

• According to Mary Ainsworth, at what ages is there:

“no fear of strangers” “separation anxiety”

• Describe “The Strange Situation Test”.

• Describe secure attachment• Describe avoidant attachment• Describe ambivalent attachment• Describe disorganised attachment