Attachment Theory PDF

**[Attachment Theory]** In attachment theory, attachment means an affectional bond or tie between an individual child and an attachment figure (usually a caregiver). These bonds are based on the child's need for safety, security and protection. The biological aim of the bond is survival and psychol...

**[Attachment Theory]** In attachment theory, attachment means an affectional bond or tie between an individual child and an attachment figure (usually a caregiver). These bonds are based on the child's need for safety, security and protection. The biological aim of the bond is survival and psychological aim of the bond is security. Infants who have formed a positive attachment to one or both parents use them as secure bases from which to explore the environment. These relationships are crucial for children's well-being and for their emotional and social development. The concept of Attachment theory was given by the British psychologist John Bowlby. The assumption of this theory is that, in the environment in which the human species evolved, the survival of infants would have depended on their ability to maintain proximity to adults motivated to protect, feed, care for, and comfort them.  Attachment theory deals with emotional bond between two or more individuals. The most important tenet of attachment theory is that a young child needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally social impairment. Without this care, the child will often face permanent psychological and social impairment. Individual differences in patterns of attachment were first documented by Mary Ainsworth and her colleagues using the Strange Situation. The Strange Situation involves a sequence of separations and reunions of caregivers (usually mothers) and their children. It assesses how children regulate negative emotions regarding their caregivers when the children are upset. On this basis they identified four different types of attachment style: - ***Secure Attachment:* **These children are generally more likely to see others as supportive and helpful and themselves as competent and worthy of respect. They relate positively to others and display resilience, engage in complex play and are more successful in the classroom and in interactions with other children. They are better at taking the perspectives of others and have more trust in others. - ***Anxious-Avoidant Attachment***: Children with an anxious-avoidant attachment style are generally less effective in managing stressful situations. They are likely to withdraw and resist seeking help, which inhibits them from forming satisfying relationship with others. They show more aggression and antisocial behavior, like lying and bullying, and they tend to distance themselves from others to reduce emotional stress. - ***Anxious-Resistant Attachment*:** These children are on the opposite end of the spectrum from anxious-avoidant children. They likely lack self-confidence and stick close to their primary caregivers. They may display exaggerated emotional reactions and keep their distance from their peers, leading to social isolation. - ***Disorganized Attachment*:** Children with a disorganized attachment style usually fail to develop an organized strategy for coping with separation distress, and tend to display aggression, disruptive behaviors, and social isolation. They are more likely to see others as threats than sources of support, and thus may switch between social withdrawal and defensively aggressive behavior (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2004). **The Harlow Experiments** attachment theory Harlow experiments In the 1950s, Harry Harlow was conducting experiments on love and relationships between parents and children, specifically monkey parents and children. His work showed that motherly love was emotional rather than physiological, that the capacity for attachment is heavily dependent upon experiences in early childhood, and that this capacity was unlikely to change much after it was "set" (Herman, 2012). Harlow discovered these interesting findings by conducting two groundbreaking experiments. In the first experiment, Harlow separated infant monkeys from their mothers a few hours after birth. Each monkey was instead raised by two inanimate surrogate "mothers." Both provided the infant monkeys with the milk they needed to survive, but one was made out of wire mesh while the other was wire mesh covered with soft terry cloth. The monkeys who were given the freedom to choose which mother to associate with almost always chose to take milk from the terry cloth "mother." This finding showed that infant attachment is not simply a matter of where they get their milk---other factors are at play. For his second experiment, Harlow modified his original setup. The monkeys were given either the bare wire mesh surrogate mother or the terry cloth mother, both of which provided the milk the monkeys needed to grow. Both groups of monkeys survived and thrived physically, but they displayed extremely different behavioral tendencies. Those with a terry cloth mother returned to the surrogate when presented with strange, loud objects, while those with a wire mesh mother would throw themselves to the floor, clutch themselves, rock back and forth, or even "scream in terror." This provided a clear indication that emotional attachment in infancy, gained through cuddling, affected the monkey's later responses to stress and emotional regulation (Herman, 2012). **Characteristics of Attachment** 1. **Safe Haven:** When the child feels threatened or afraid, he or she can return to the caregiver for comfort and soothing. 2. **Secure Base:** The caregiver provides a secure and dependable base for the child to explore the world. 3. **Proximity Maintenance:** The child strives to stay near the caregiver, thus keeping the child safe. 4. **Separation Distress:** When separated from the caregiver, the child will become upset and distressed.