Attachment Theory - Psychologist World

Attachment theory states that a strong emotional and physical attachment to at least one primary caregiver is critical to personal development. · John Bowlby ... Close× LearnMorePsychology Downloadpsychologyarticles,BodyLanguage&DreamInterpretationguidesandmore   Downloadarticles,guidesandmore!   SignUp Like11,663 SignIn SignUp Learnmorepsychology Accessarticles,guides&more SignUp Home Behavior Biological BodyLanguage Cognitive Developmental Dreams Emotion Forums Freud Influence Memory Personality Sleep Stress Tests SignIn  SignUp  More MoreAreas: Biological Developmental Forums Influence Sleep Stress DevelopmentalPsychology AttachmentTheory DevelopmentalPsychology AttachmentTheory Introductiontoattachmenttheoryindevelopmentalpsychology,includingBowlbyandAinsworth'scontributions,evaluationandcriticismsofattachmenttheory. Permalink Print   |   Share Tweet StumbleUpon PinIt 366 AttachmentTheory Attachmenttheoryisaconceptindevelopmentalpsychologythatconcernstheimportanceof"attachment"inregardstopersonaldevelopment.Specifically,itmakestheclaimthattheabilityforanindividualtoformanemotionalandphysical"attachment"toanotherpersongivesasenseofstabilityandsecuritynecessarytotakerisks,branchout,andgrowanddevelopasapersonality.Naturally,attachmenttheoryisabroadideawithmanyexpressions,andthebestunderstandingofitcanbehadbylookingatseveralofthoseexpressionsinturn. JohnBowlby PsychologistJohnBowlbywasthefirsttocointheterm.Hisworkinthelate60sestablishedtheprecedentthatchildhooddevelopmentdependedheavilyuponachild'sabilitytoformastrongrelationshipwith"atleastoneprimarycaregiver".Generallyspeaking,thisisoneoftheparents. Bowlby'sstudiesinchildhooddevelopmentand"temperament"ledhimtotheconclusionthatastrongattachmenttoacaregiverprovidesanecessarysenseofsecurityandfoundation.Withoutsucharelationshipinplace,Bowlbyfoundthatagreatdealofdevelopmentalenergyisexpendedinthesearchforstabilityandsecurity.Ingeneral,thosewithoutsuchattachmentsarefearfulandarelesswillingtoseekoutandlearnfromnewexperiences.Bycontrast,achildwithastrongattachmenttoaparentknowsthattheyhave"back-up"sotospeak,andthuslytendtobemoreadventurousandeagertohavenewexperiences(whichareofcoursevitaltolearninganddevelopment). Thereissomebasisinobservationalpsychologyhere.Thebabywhoisattachedstronglytoacaregiverhasseveralofhisorhermostimmediateneedsmetandaccountedfor.Consequently,theyareabletospendagreatdealmoretimeobservingandinteractingwiththeirenvironments.Thusly,theirdevelopmentisfacilitated.InDepthObservationalPsychology ForBowlby,theroleoftheparentascaregivergrowsovertimetomeettheparticularneedsoftheattachedchild.Earlyon,thatroleistobeattachedtoandprovideconstantsupportandsecurityduringtheformativeyears.Later,thatroleistobeavailableasthechildneedsperiodichelpduringtheirexcursionsintotheoutsideworld.1 MaryAinsworth MaryAinsworthwoulddevelopmanyoftheideassetforthbyBowlbyinherstudies.Inparticular,sheidentifiedtheexistenceofwhatshecalls"attachmentbehavior",examplesofbehaviorthataredemonstratedbyinsecurechildreninhopesofestablishingorre-establishinganattachmenttoapresentlyabsentcaregiver.Sincethisbehavioroccursuniformlyinchildren,itisacompellingargumentfortheexistenceof"innate"orinstinctualbehaviorinthehumananimal. Thestudyworkedbylookingatabroadcross-sectionofchildrenwithvaryingdegreesofattachmenttotheirparentsorcaregiversfromstrongandhealthyattachmentstoweakandtenuousbonds.Thechildrenwerethenseparatedfromtheircaregiversandtheirresponseswereobserved.Thechildrenwithstrongattachmentswererelativelycalm,seemingtobesecureinthebeliefthattheircaregiverswouldreturnshortly,whereasthechildrenwithweakattachmentswouldcryanddemonstrategreatdistressundertheywererestoredtotheirparents. Laterinthesamestudy,childrenwereexposedtointentionallystressfulsituations,duringwhichnearlyallofthembegantoexhibitparticularbehaviorsthatwereeffectiveinattractingtheattentionoftheircaregivers–akeenexampleofattachmentbehavior.2 HazanandShaver Earlyon,oneoftheprimarylimitationsofattachmenttheorywasthatithadonlyreallybeenstudiedinthecontextofyoungchildren.Whilestudiesofchildrenareofteninstrumentalinthefieldofdevelopmentalpsychology,thatfieldisideallysupposedtoaddressthedevelopmentoftheentirehumanorganism,includingthestageofadulthood.Inthe1980s,CindyHazanandPhillipShaverwereabletogarneralotofattention,then,whentheyturnedattachmenttheoryonadultrelationships.3 Intheirstudies,theylookedatanumberofcouples,examiningthenatureoftheattachmentsbetweenthem,andthenobservedhowthosecouplesreactedtovariousstressorsandstimuli.Inthecaseofadults,itwouldseemthatastrongattachmentisstillquiteimportant.Forexample,incaseswheretheadultshadaweakattachment,therewerefeelingsofinadequacyandalackofintimacyonthepartofbothparties.Whenattachmentsweretoostrong,therewereissueswithco-dependency.Therelationshipsfunctionedbestwhenbothpartiesmanagedtobalanceintimacywithindependence.Muchasisthecasewithdevelopingchildren,theidealsituationseemedtobeanattachmentthatfunctionedasasecurebasefromwhichtoreachoutandgainexperienceintheworld. CriticismsofAttachmentTheory Oneofthemostcommoncriticismsofattachmenttheoryisthatnon-Westernsocietiestendtoofferupcompellingcounter-examples.Forinstance,inPapuaNewGuineaorUganda,theideaofachildbeingintimatelyattachedtoacaregiverissomewhatalien,andchild-rearingdutiesaremoreevenlydistributedamongabroadergroupofpeople.Still,"well-adjusted"membersofsocietyareproduced,indicatingthat,atleastinthesesocieties,someothermechanismisactingintheplaceoftheattachmentsthataresonecessaryforWesternchildren. Evaluation Attachmenttheorystatesthatastrongemotionalandphysicalattachmenttoatleastoneprimarycaregiveriscriticaltopersonaldevelopment. JohnBowlbyfirstcoinedthetermasaresultofhisstudiesinvolvingthedevelopmentalpsychologyofchildrenfromvariousbackgrounds. MaryAinsworthconductedthisresearch,discoveringtheexistenceof"attachmentbehavior"–behaviormanifestedforthepurposeofcreatingattachmentduringtimeswhenachildfeelsconfusedorstressed. HazanandShaver(1987)usedthe"LoveQuiz"todemonstratetheapplicabilityofattachmenttheorytoadultromanticrelationships. Attachmenttheoryhashadaprofoundinfluenceuponchildcarepolicies,aswellasprinciplesofbasicclinicalpracticeforchildren. Criticsofattachmenttheorypointoutthelackofparentalattachmentinmanynon-Westernsocieties. References Bowlby,John.AttachmentandLoss.1969. Ainsworth,M.“InfancyinUganda:InfantCareandtheGrowthofLove.”Baltimore:JohnHopkinsUniversityPress,1967. Hazan,C.&Shaver,P.“Attachmentasanorganizationalframeworkforresearchoncloserelationship.”PsychologicalInquiry.51-22,1994. ReadMore StagesofLanguageAcquisitionWhatstagesdowegothroughtolearnourlanguage?TheoriesofPersonalityHowdifferenttheoriesexplainthedevelopmentofpersonalityandindividualdifferences.TheoriesofLearningTheoriesinpsychologyofhowweacquireknowledgeandskills. Share: ShareTweetStumbleUponPinIt MostRead WhichArchetypeAreYou?DiscoverwhichJungianArchetypeyourpersonalitymatcheswiththisarchetypetest. AreYouAngry?Takeour5-minuteangertesttofindoutifyou'reangry! WindowstotheSoulWhatcanaperson'seyestellyouaboutwhattheyarethinking? AreYouStressed?Measureyourstresslevelswiththis5-minutestresstest. Attachment&RelationshipsHowdoourinfantrelationshipsaffectthosewehaveaswegrowolder? MemoryLikeAGoldfish?TakePsychologistWorld's5-minutememorytesttomeasureyourmemory. 31DefenseMechanismsAlookatcommondefensemechanismsweemploytoprotecttheego. SlaveToYourRole?Towhatextentarepeoplecontrolledbytheirrolesinsociety? PersonalityQuizzes WhichArchetypeAreYou?DiscoverwhichJungianArchetypeyourpersonalitymatcheswiththisarchetypetest. AreYouAngry?Takeour5-minuteangertesttofindoutifyou'reangry! AreYouStressed?Measureyourstresslevelswiththis5-minutestresstest. MemoryLikeAGoldfish?TakePsychologistWorld's5-minutememorytesttomeasureyourmemory. AreYouFixated?DiscoveryourFreudianpersonalitytypewithourFixationTest. Advertisement Self-HelpGuides InterpretYourDreamsLearntointerpretthehiddenmeaningsbehindthethemesofyourdreamsandnightmares. HowtoReadBodyLanguageLearntoreadandunderstandbodysignalsandimproveyourownbodylanguage. HowtoBeatStressandSucceedinExamsIfyou'reoneofthemanypeoplewhogetsstressedoutwhenitcomestotakingexamsthenwehaveafewtipsforyouthatwillhelpyoutoovercomethisandreallyconcentratingonachievinggoodgrades. FollowPsychologistWorld: MoreonDevelopmentalPsychology LearningThroughCulturalExperiencesIntroductiontothesocioculturalapproachandanexplorationofhowour...SocioculturalApproach DevelopmentalPsychologyIndexofarticlesondevelopmentalpsychology.DevelopmentalPsychologyOverviewofdevelopmentalpsychology,includingrelatedtheoriesandan... MoreonDevelopmentalPsychology SignUpforUnlimitedAccess JoinPsychologistWorldtodayforunlimitedaccessto2,200+psychologytheories,approaches,studies,experimentsandguides: Psychologyapproaches,theoriesandstudiesexplained BodyLanguageReadingGuide HowtoInterpretYourDreamsGuide SelfHypnosisDownloads PlusMoreMemberBenefits LearnMoreandSignUp YouMayAlsoLike... NapforPerformance? Polyphasicsleeppatterns,daytimenapsandtheirimpactonperformance. MakingConversation Struggletokeepconversationsalive?Trytheeasy-to-rememberFORMtechnique 31DefenseMechanisms Alookatcommondefensemechanismsweemploytoprotecttheego. PsychologyofColor Howcanthecolorsaroundusaffectourmood? MasterBodyLanguage Learntointerpretbodylanguagesignalsandbetterunderstandpeople'semotions. PersuasionwithIngratiation Howingratiationtechniquesareusedtopersuadepeople. WhyDoWeDream? Isthereapurposebehindourdreamsandnightmares? WhichArchetypeAreYou? DiscoverwhichJungianArchetypeyourpersonalitymatcheswiththisarchetypetest. InterpretYourDreams Learntointerpretthehiddenmeaningsbehindthethemesofyourdreamsandnightmares. Brainwashed Doesbrainwashingreallyexistandhowhasitbeenused? AreYouStressed? Measureyourstresslevelswiththis5-minutestresstest. DarkSenseofHumorLinkedtoIntelligence Anewstudyclaimsthatappreciationofblackhumorisasignofintelligence PsychologyGuides LearnBodyLanguageReading ReadGuide HowToInterpretYourDreams ReadGuide OvercomeyourFearsandPhobias ReadGuide PsychologyTopics Home Behavior Biological BodyLanguage Cognitive Development Dreams Emotions Forums Freud Humanistic Influence Personality PersonalityTests Sleep Stress LearnPsychology Access2,200+insightfulpagesofpsychologyexplanations&theories Insightsintothewaywethinkandbehave BodyLanguage&DreamInterpretationguides SelfhypnosisMP3downloadsandmore GetUnlimitedAccessSignUpNow MostRead BehavioralApproach EyeReading StressTest CognitiveApproach Fight-or-FlightResponse NeuroticismTest Home About ContactUs TermsofUse Privacy&Cookies HypnosisScripts SignUp ©2022PsychologistWorld.PartslicensedunderGNUFDL.