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Bowlby And Ainsworth Attachment Theory

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Attachment and how it relates to the development of a person is a highly studied area within psychology and human services, with a focus on the causes and impacts. Attachment can be both a positive and negative experience that differs from each person and phase of life. Both Bowlby and Ainsworth conducted studies to present the concept of ‘attachment theory’ and how this is demonstrated over a person’s lifespan. It gives professionals and carers the information to why people present the way they do and the insight in how to improve outcomes and support behaviour and emotions. Attachment theory is a term used to discuss the relationship between infants and their primary caregivers. This theory is based on the bond of both emotional and …show more content…

Observation of both the parent and their child takes place and the behaviours then related to a type of attachment. Through “The Strange Situation Study” undertaken by Mary Ainsworth, (Bretherton, 1992), different types of attachment were discussed in terms of the related behaviour. One attachment type is the secure attachment style which supports children’s development as the caregiver positively interacts with the child and is in tuned with their needs. A child with secure attachment looks at the career for comfort as well as when they are sad, unsure or not well. The child becomes upset when the carer leaves and responds with happiness when the carer returns (Howe, …show more content…

The child is unable to predict the carer’s behaviour as they tend to display behaviour that is inconsistent (Howe, 2005). The final insecure behaviour type is disorganised, here the child shows no attachment style behaviour, can appear confused and even blank in the carers presence. A carer displaying this style of attachment can show behaviour that is scary for the child, can be abusive and even neglectful (Howe, 2005). When looking an attachment theory and how it relates to development I will be relating this to all areas of development. Areas that relate to childhood development include, physical both fine and gross motor, social, emotional, communication, language and cognitive development. All areas are important and all make up the whole child (Howe, 2005). As if the foetus develops into an individual, attachment with the primary carer giver is already developing. Even at this early age, the attachment between a mother and child can create a positive outcome for and the well-being of the child in the future (Howe,

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