During the early stages of life, infants are reliant on others to take care of them. Typically they form a bond between themselves and their main caregiver. This bond is referred to as attachment. The first signs of attachment is usually between the infant and his or her mother, being that the mother is generally the main caregiver in a child’s first few months of life.
Even though infants are reliant on individuals at the beginning of life, “attachment to their mothers is not instantaneous” (Weiten, 2011, p. 341). They can easily be given to another individual without much difficulty. Around 8 months is when a child begins to show attachment to his mother. Separation can be difficult and stress in the infant can result as a consequence. If separation anxiety develops, it will begin to decline as the child grows older.
Studies have been conducted to explain why children develop an attachment to their mothers. One study’s theory was that by a mother feeding her infant child, the child forms the attachment through the need to be fed and the mother is providing that need to the child. However, that theory was shot down when Harry Harlow decided to raise monkeys and see what happens when a frightening stimulus was introduced. Did they go to the “mother” that fed them and was made of wires or did they go to the one that held more comfort being made of cloth? They scattered to the mother made of cloth. Harlow’s explanation was that “infants are biologically programmed to emit behavior that triggers an affectionate, protective response from adults”(Weiten, 2011, p. 342).
As for the quality of attachment between mother and infant, it varies and there are specifically three types of categories that attachment can be categorized under. Secure attachment is the better of the three. When a child is develops a secure attachment, he or she is comfortable with their mothers.