...Attachment From birth, we are always surrounded by people. The doctors and nurses who deliver us. The parents who raise us and help us to become an adult. The family members that always want to be around us. The people we stand in line next to in the grocery store. We come in contact with a lot of people throughout our lifetime. We have different relationships with each one of them. People are emotionally connected with others in different ways. As we grow older, we socially develop and create attachment relationships with the people in our lives. Some relationships are stronger than others. Attachment is a part of us that develops over time and is a very important part of our lives, even as adults. Attachment is within the domain of social development. The relationships we create through attachment are based on the strong emotional and social connection we have with a person. They can be anybody from a parent to a guardian to an uncle that is constantly giving us attention. A person that we are attached to can be seen as an attachment figure. The child always wants to be around this person, interact with them, and solely have their attention. These attachment figures are the people we are the most socially and emotionally responsive to. We find comfort in them and develop a sense of trust. Sometimes it can be hard for children to be separated from the ones they are most attached to, but as they develop the separation will begin to get easier. As attachment is developing...
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...From the moment we are born we are reliant on others for our survival. The attachment patterns established in infancy affect how we as humans perceive ourselves, interact with those around us and live in our world. Infants who experience confusing, frightening or broken emotional communications during infancy often grow into adolescents and later, adults who have trouble understanding their own emotions and those of others and have difficulty building and maintaining relationships and leading successful lives. Infant Attachment as defined in our textbook, is the close emotional bond between an infant and its primary caregiver. According to John Bowlby (1969,1989 as cited in King), in his theory of attachment, the infant and the mother instinctively form an attachment, he believed that infants are biologically pre programmed to form these attachments, that an infant’s attachment behaviors are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such a separation, insecurity and fear. The way Bowlby saw it; infants are born with an instinct to survive. They signal their needs to their caregiver by crying, clinging, searching. The responsiveness of the caregiver determines whether the infant feels loved, secure, and confidant. The way in which the caregiver reacts, also determines what type of attachment the infant will develop. Bowlby thought that our early relationships with our caregivers serve as our schemas for...
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...way agree with the (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970) article and the information being provided regarding attachment. Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time (Bordens & Abbott, 2011). Attachment does not have to be reciprocal. One person may have an attachment with an individual which is not shared. Attachment is characterized by specific behaviors in children, such as seeking proximity with the attachment figure when upset (Bordens & Abbott, 2011).Attachment behavior in adults towards the child includes responding sensitively and appropriately to the child’s needs. Such behavior appears universal across cultures. Attachment theory provides an explanation of how the parent-child relationship emerges and influences subsequent development. Attachment theory in psychology originates with the seminal work of John Bowlby (Bordens & Abbott, 2011). Stages of Attachment A study of 60 babies at monthly intervals is conducted for the first 18 months of life (longitudinal study). The children can be studied in their home. The children can be visited monthly for approximately one year, their interactions with their parents are observed, and parents are interviewed and evidence for the development of attachment is that the baby shows separation anxiety after the parent left (Bordens & Abbott, 2011). Up to 3 months – Indiscriminate attachments. The newborn is predisposed to attach to any human. Most babies respond equally to any caregiver...
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... Is it a given that the quality of nurturing of the caregiver plays the biggest role in the social and temperamental well being of the child? Yes and no. Infants are born with predetermined characteristics within them. How a caregiver reacts to the infants needs, will certainly be a factor in the child’s well being as they grow. Caregivers, usually mothers, which is the prototype, are the ones who form the first attachment to an infant. How we help the infant grow on these attachments will set the stage for his/her social well being. Attachment relationships should provide a foundation for social learning. Infants of depressed mothers are at risk. They show depressed social behavior, not only with their mothers but also when interacting with strangers. (Steinberg, Vandell, Bornstein. Development: Infancy through Adolescence p153) Researchers have found that attachment patterns established early in life can lead to a number of outcomes. Children who had a healthy and secure attachment during infancy will have a stronger self esteem. The will be less dependent and do better in school with higher grades. Their relationships with other people will be stronger. They are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. There are plenty of factors that will affect the social/emotional behaviors of a child: the relationship of parents, the poverty level in which the child is born, and the positive nurturing...
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...Bowlby's Attachment Theory John Bowlby (1907 - 1990) was a psychoanalyst (like Freud) and believed that mental health and behavioral problems could be attributed to early childhood. Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive. Bowlby was very much influenced by ethological theory in general, but especially by Lorenz’s (1935) study of imprinting. Lorenz showed that attachment was innate (in young ducklings) and therefore has a survival value. Bowlby believed that attachment behaviors are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such as separation, insecurity and fear. Bowlby (1969, 1988) also postulated that the fear of strangers represents an important survival mechanism, built in by nature. Babies are born with the tendency to display certain innate behaviors (called social releasers) which help ensure proximity and contact with the mother or mother figure (e.g. crying, smiling, crawling, etc.) – these are species-specific behaviors. During the evolution of the human species, it would have been the babies who stayed close to their mothers who would have survived to have children of their own and Bowlby hypothesized that both infants and mothers have evolved a biological need to stay in contact with each other. These attachment behaviors initially function...
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...ADULT ATTACHMENT In 1984, Main and Goldwyn performed an experiment to denote whether early patterns of attachment influence adult relationships and in particular, the attachment with their own children. In this study, each participant under went an Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) where they were asked about both their adult and childhood relationships. Every adult was then classified into four groups so that the attachment with their children could be assessed. They found a link with Ainsworth's study and realised there was a correlation between the infant attachment types and the adult classification. The first classification was dismissing (detached); in this group, people's childhood experiences are not seen as important and neither are personal relationships. Referring back to the link with Ainsworth's study, they found that adults in this classification, usually had infants who were insecurely (anxious-avoidant) attached. The second group was Autonomous (secure), adults in this category thought relationships to be important and both positive and negative experiences were recalled in the AAI with insight into how they influenced themselves - this group was linked with the infant attachment type B - secure. Preoccupied (entangled) was the third group and contained adults who recognised the emotional significance of their past experiences, yet they were often unresolved - their children were found to be insecurely (anxious-ambivalent) attached. Finally, there was the...
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...There are many explanations for attachment such as learning theory and evolutionary perspective (Bowlby). Discuss one explanation of attachment (8 marks) A01 – Description (4 marks) Bowlby’s attachment theory states that attachment is adaptive and innate (genetic). Infants elicit care giving and become attached to those individuals who respond sensitively to their signals (social releasers). The relationship with the primary attachment figure (monotropy) acts like a framework for future adult relationships through the internal working model. Bowlby stated that infants are born with innate social releasers, e.g. crying, smiling and cute faces (big eyes and large foreheads), which encourage (or elicit) the caregiver to provide care. Attachment is a two-way process, depending on the involvement of the parent and the infant and social releasers. Bowlby claimed that infants need one special relationship, this he called primary attachment which forms with one individual who has offered sensitive responses to the infant’s social releasers. This attachment is also referred to as monotropy. Infants also form secondary attachments, which form what Bowlby called a hierarchy. These secondary attachments are essential for emotional development. Primary attachment relationships are the basis of his internal working model. This is supported by Harlow’s study of rhesus monkeys and their dysfunctional attachment as adults. Infants have a mental model of their environment; one example is...
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...Attachment Paper Maria Salsberry PSY/205 June 1, 2015 Tanya Semcesen Attachment Paper According McLeod (2009) Mary Ainsworth describes, “ as an affectional tie that one person or animal forms between himself and another specific one, a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time”. John Bowlby suggests that there is a direct correlation between the emotional and cognitive development in children and the relationship with their mother. Bowlby further believes the child’s inability to adjust relates to the early separation form he/she’s mother (McLeod, 2009). Developing secure attachment in a child starts the day they are born and continues to develop through the toddler years. Behaviors in Children Securely Attached From 0-2 months is the pre-attachment period and the behaviors are the cries, sucking, and babbling needed to achieve their mother’s attention. 2-6 months attachment starts to develop as he/she recognizes known figures they begin to cling, grasp, and vocalize their preference of their mother. 6 -11 months the toddler clearly knows who their caregiver is and begins to uncomfortable when strangers are around or when caregiver leaves the room. Children 11-18 months are relaxed and secure when their parent or caregiver is around and become upset and anxious when they leave. Upon their parents return they will seek comfort from their caregiver when contact is initiated with positive behavior (Positive-Parenting-Ally Practical Advice & Deep...
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...How does attachment influence the social and emotional development of the child? In your answer refer to the usefulness and the critiques of the attachment theory. A child’s social and emotional development has significant implications for the social functioning of a child throughout their lives, in their education, friendships and employment. A child with poor or social and emotional development are at risk of experiencing poor relationships with peers, academic problems and can lead them into involvement in unsociable activities or crime. Research suggests the key to social and emotional development lies in the child’s early relationship with parents and caregivers. It is believed that children develop and thrive better when they are brought up in an environment where the caregiver satisfies a child’s needs physically and emotionally. Throughout the Late 1930s and 1940s a psychologist John Bowlby investigated the nature and the purpose of the close relationships that a person forms with people throughout their lives, in particular, childhood. He researched the making and breaking of bonds to understand the psychological behaviour and social and emotional development of human being (Howe, 1995, P46). As a result of these investigations and studies Bowlby developed a theory called the ‘Attachment Theory’. The basis of this theory is that “the infant and young child should experience warm, intimate and continuous relationships between the child and the mother” (Steele...
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...Resilience / attachment Resilience is one sociological theory which can be used to understand the differences in the outcomes faced by care leavers (Stein, 2005). It is defined by Stein (2005) as the quality that enables some people to find fulfilment in their lives despite their disadvantaged backgrounds, the problems or adversity they may have faced or the pressures they may have experienced. It has been argued that resilience can in part be about overcoming the odds and then coping and recovering from the a particular event, however it is only relative to different risk experiences as it is likely to develop over time (Schofield, 2001). Much of the research surrounding resilience has focused on three main areas: the attributes of children and young people; their family relationships and the characteristics of their wider social environments (Stein, 2005). Within each of these areas, there has been an effort to identify the risk and protective factors and how these factors may contribute to positive outcomes. Theoretical frameworks have further advanced the development of resilience research to include the ‘protective’ and ‘risk’ factor model; ecological perspectives which take into account the influence of different cultural and social contexts and the structural organisational perspectives which views individual choice as significant as other factors to the development of resilience over time (Stein, 2005; Luthar et al., 2000). It has been suggested that there are complex...
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...huge impact on their interaction with others during adulthood. Attachment is an emotional bond that is from one person to another, the attachment theory is a psychological theory that focuses on relationships between the caregiving and child. An infant will have to develop a relationship with a caregiver in order for them to develop socially and emotionally. Infants need to possess the social, emotional, and intellectual skills to achieve and flourish in this society. From the time that an infant is born, the people around him or her influence the child’s way of thinking towards any given relationship and this could lead to a healthy adult relationship; that is infant attachment. The attachment theory was presented by John Bowlby; he defined attachment as “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings”. Bowlby began studying the distress levels of an infant when they are separated from their mothers, and these findings opposed the behavior theory of attachment. The behavior theory of attachment indicated that a child becomes attached to the mother because she fed the infant, but when Bowlby observed the infants being fed by strangers they did not indicated any distress or anxiety (Mcleod, 2009). That’s when he came to the conclusion that attachment could be influenced by environmental circumstances, and the earliest bonds formed between caregiver and infant improves the child’s chance of survival. Attachment is ongoing and adaptive; it is a pattern of interactions between...
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...Attachment Style and Relationships Kathy Schwab PSY/220 July 29, 2012 Edward Billingslea Attachment Style and Relationships Part 1 Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love is based on three dimensions: passion, intimacy, and commitment. In Sternberg’s model passion, intimacy, and commitment each represent one side of a triangle describing the love shared by two people. Passion means strong emotion, excitement, and physiological arousal, often tied to sexual desire and attraction. Intimacy refers to mutual understanding, warm affection, and mutual concern for the other person’s welfare. Commitment is the conscious decision to stay in a relationship for the long haul. By putting together different combinations of the three ingredients, Sternberg’s model describes several varieties of love and the specific components of romantic and companionate love (Baumgardner and Crothers, 2009). Romantic love is a combination of intimacy and passion. It is more than infatuation, its liking with the added excitement of physical attraction but without commitment. Companionate love is slow-developing love built on high intimacy and a strong commitment. When youthful passions fade in a marriage, companionate love, based on deep, affectionate friendship provides a solid foundation for a lasting and successful relationship. Fatuous love combines high passion and commitment with the absence of intimacy. The commitment is based on passion and sustained solely by passion....
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... 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...
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...Attachment is “the strong, affectionate tie that humans have with special people in their lives, which leads them to feel pressure when interacting with those people and to be comforted by their nearness in times of stress,” (Berk, 2012). There are four different types of attachment, which are secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized/disoriented. Attachment can begin to form before a child is even born and continues on until the end of life, so infant-parent relationship is an important component in every child’s life. For this study, we will only be looking at the insecure attachments in infants and toddlers. There are often factors that can interfere with an infant-parent relationship that may affect the child at that moment or even...
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...Morales Psychology 102 Professor Frederic Halper Attachment Security, Compassion and Altruism In psychology there has always been an argument between whether certain things are learned or whether they are innate (born with). It can be many things like personalities, beliefs, emotions, desires, values etc. According to John Bowlby and his theory, when it comes to survival of the human species one of the things we do as infants is try to capture the attention of our caregiver in order to receive care and attention. Attachment security is the term we would use for describing this. This of course would be something innate, something natural that we as babies would use for protection "The propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals, a basic component of human nature". (Bowlby) Sometimes this is not always provided to an infant, and if it isn’t, it will supposedly affect the individual later in life. According to Bowlby "The operation of this system is affected by an individual’s social experiences, especially with early caregivers, resulting in measurable individual differences in attachment security". Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure. Not only does attachment security aid in survival but it also has a huge influence on development, our behaviors and relationships later in life. In the article Attachment Security, Compassion and Altruism a series of studies...
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