What´s Ainsworth's Attachment Theory?

Detachment is quite the devilish character as he slips and slides into the cracks of humanity. Many people claim there is a disconnect between humanity and nature. One author in particular who addresses this is a man named Richard Louv. Louv’s argues that humanity is growing detached from nature leading to a sad loss of an important connection; illustrated effectively by tactical usage of rhetorical strategies.

Bowlby, notably researched a set of abandoned orphans and the negative effect separation from their parents had on them (Bretherton, 1992; Senior, 2013). This led him to conclude attachment formed in these years influenced one from birth to death (Chopik, Edelstein, & Fraley, 2012; Drewery, 2011) For instance, he stated that people with early attachment insecurity, are more susceptible to psychological issues such as high anxiety and riskier health behaviour (Bretherton, 1992; Cooper, et al., 2008). Ainsworth, also believed in prominence on early experiences of attachment. This alludes to her study, the Strange Situation, which focuses on children’s responses to separation and reunion events with their parents (Bretherton, 1992; Main, 2000). She stated that based on the quality of parental care, a child would fall within three categories of attachment. A child whom received sufficient care, would develop secure attachment and, thus, be confident and steady individuals. Yet, a child receiving insufficient care, would either become insecurely anxious-ambivalent, thus, becoming clingy, distrustful and hypervigilant to the world; or alternatively would become insecurely avoidant, being rather dismissive to situations around them (Bretherton, 1992; Main, 2000). A fourth category of disorganised attachment was added, referring to children whom lacked attachment mechanisms completely (Main, 2000). Both these theorists wanted to display the importance of early life experiences in development and the following arguments will display how their theories proved

Although we are studying theories, some of them appear to explain human behavior and personality with certain accuracy. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth theories of attachment can also explain what happens to people when attachment to their parents or caregivers is healthy or potential problems that could occur due to detachments. They suggest that individuals raised with secure attachments to their primary caregivers help them to feel secure; moreover, these children appear to be more socially skilled and less likely to experience major emotional disturbances. However, failure to form healthy attachments, especially mother-child, could serve as a descriptive mechanism for many negative psychological outcomes later in the life of an individual,

Attachment is the emotional bond between a child and parent. This bond can shape the way in which the child's emotional and social development can phase out throughout it’s lifetime. Both attachment and temperament have shown robust associations with children’s peer functioning (Berlin et al,, 2008.) Early attachment within the child's life has an impact on the developing brain, which can result in lasting effects at a neuronal level (Schore, 1994.) Of course the importance of attachment does not cease right after a child s early life, however the focus of my essay is to be concentrated on the different theories and studies associated with early life attachment. I will also be discussing the four different types of attachment and

Sigmund Freud (1982) also known as the “Father of Psychoanalysis” claimed that the mother-child connection is an unconscious bond between the infant and the primary caregiver which becomes the dominant force for a pattern of behaviors throughout the infant’s entire lifespan. However, John Bowlby, a British psychologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst developed Freud’s claim further and introduced the attachment theory. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health “Attachment is one specific aspect of the relationship between a child and a parent with its purpose being to make a child safe, secure and protected. Attachment is distinguished from other aspects of parenting, such as disciplining, entertaining and

The attachment theory specifies that an infants and young child requires consistent relationships with people to thrive and develop. Attachment is described as a essential need with a biological basis where infants or young children need to maintain a sense of security with a specific person. Developing a secure attachment between the infant and their parents or guardian is an important part of early childhood development, due to the many things that can interfere with the development of a healthy attachment. Without a secure attachment, an infant may develop problems that can continue throughout their lives and affect the relationships with others.

Christina Baker Kline graduated from several universities including Cambridge, University of Virginia, and Yale. Mrs. Kline was a Henery Hoyns Fellow in fiction Writing at the University of Virginia. Along with the #1 New York Times bestselling novel "Orphan Train", Christina has also written "Bird in Hand", Desire Lines , Sweet Water and The Way Life Should Be. In addition to her many accomplishments Mrs. Kline is also a recipient of several Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowships and Writer-in-Residence Fellowships. Kline wrote the Orphan Train because she wanted to bring the world to awareness of the hardships that abandoned children underwent and impacts they made on their lives. Even as time carries on, many parentless children today

In this paper, I will attempt to identify a primary reason why Lewis is so infatuated with fiction literature and the wonder it can create. The problem that C.S. Lewis addresses later in his book uniquely gives clarity to, what I believe, may be an underlying reason for his apparent love for writing fiction literature. Lewis laments, “Nearly all that I loved I believed to be imaginary; nearly all that I believed to be real I thought grim and meaningless” (Lewis 170). Under a mindset like this, the wonder of fiction literature and the desire to supplant one’s self in a world separate from our own becomes extremely appealing. Based on prior experiences correlating real life with unfortunate events and contrarily correlating imaginative literature with an enhanced alternative to life, it appears

In the normal development of every individual, the need to form secure attachments with their parents is present. Developmental theorists have even categorized attachment as a basic need of every human being, (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Secure attachments take place when the physical and emotional needs of the child are constantly provided, particularly during the first two years of life. Healthy attachments will make children internalize their parents as figures of trust; this in turn will make them perceive their parents with an image of security, stability, and dependence. Healthy parent-child attachment is necessary to allow the child to develop interdependence and learn to engage in reciprocally pleasurable interactions. Securely attached

A link was found between early attachment types and adult relationships. Securely attached infants would develop a secure attachment with their adult partner; insecure ambivalent children led on to develop insecure ambivalent relationships. (Hazan and Shaver 1987) This shows that the early attachment type does affect later relationships, suggesting that early attachment types are important in understanding an individuals behaviour e.g. whether they are secure in relationships or not. This in theory could essentially perhaps lead to interventions which try and change attachments to be more secure that are more effective compared to CBT. It also provides support for the lifespan approach that attachment doesn't just affect an individual for a couple of years but that it could affect them for their entire life, therefore this suggest that it is important to try and ensure parents spend as much time with their children as possible to ensure a secure attachment. Although this evidence is in favour of Bowlby’s theory, the methodology was based on a self-report questionnaire including questions that try to investigate childhood attachments through the participant’s own childhood memories. (Add citation) These answers may exhibit social desirability bias to make the participant seem securely attached, when they are actually insecurely attached or vice versa. This may imply that

The attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth is an essential key that explains many child-parent relationships and the influence it has on development. Attachment is a process that begins during infancy in an individual’s life and can have long lasting effects. Bowlby’s theory concluded that the bonds formed between a caregiver and a child during the early years were the blueprints for future relationships. Ainsworth’s “strange situation” experiments and numerous studies tested Bowlby’s original theory and expanded on it. This paper will provide an overview on the research that has been conducted on the effects of attachment patterns on an individual’s early and later development.

Bowlby suggested that due to the attachment between children and their carers, children suffer loss when they are separated. Bowlby’s study with the ethologist Robert Hinde, inspired the idea that certain attachment behaviours have evolved as a survival mechanism (Bergen, 2008). The core of the theory today is that the quality of close relationships affects personality, emotional and social development not only in childhood but throughout the life of the individual (Howe, 2001). This suggests that attachment theory is effectively a biological, psychological and social theory of human development.

Through factors such as cognitive development of the infant, attentive care and intimate interactions with a primary caregiver, the attachment relationship is created – shaping the infants- caregiver bond. By examining the interactions between an infant and their primary caregiver, we can identify secure, insecure and disorganized attachment (Ainsworth, 1978; Cassidy 1994); which can reveal a great deal about the relationship between the infant and attachment figure. Overall, the quality of attachment bonds formed in the early years can have long lasting effects on an infant’s emotional security and social competence; not only shaping their ability to form relationships, but laying the foundations for the social, emotional and mental development of the

One of the most important factors that affect a child 's development is the relationship and attachment of the child with their primary caregiver. John Bowlby studied the development of the child; he was interested in how childhood relationships affected kids as they grew older and became adults. He was also concerned with the relationship of the child and primary caregiver and how they interacted, and the effect this had on later life. Bowlby 's theory established that children’s earliest relationships shaped their later development and characterized their human life, "from the cradle to the grave"(Bowlby, 1998). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their overall person. Bowlby 's attachment theory had vast investigation done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the interactions between mother and child, specifically, the theme of an infant’s investigation of their surroundings and the separation from their mother. This essay will focus on Bowlby’s attachment theory and Mary Ainsworth’s experiments and findings, discussing their views on the development and importance of attachment in early life.