2. Attachment
Attachment : refers to the close, emotional
bonds of affection that develop between
infants and their caregivers.
3. The Formation of Attachment Theory
Psychology and medicine discouraged
emotional affection and physical contact in
the early 1900s.
Many Psychologists believed that emotional
affection led to poor mental health.
Medical Practitioners noticed a relationship
between physical contact and sickness.
4. The Formation of Attachment Theory
A researcher named Harry Harlow decided to
evaluate how contact comfort influence the
social development of a group of rhesus
monkeys in the late 1950’s.
5. The Formation of Attachment Theory
• Feed by wire mother
• Feed by cloth mother
6. Attachment Theory
This research led John Bowlby to theorize that
infants had a biological need for contact
comfort (love).
Infants are biologically programmed
to coo, smile, and flirt to get
an emotional response from
the caregiver (attachment).
7. Features of Attachment
Proximity Maintenance: the need to be
physically close to the attachment figure
Seperation Anxiety: the emotional distress seen
when separated from the attachment figure
Safe Haven: retreating to the attachment figure
when scared
Secure Base: a feeling of being able to explore
the world because of the dependability of the
attachment figure
8. Types of Attachment
Mary Ainsworth, a colleague of Bowlby,
expanded attachment theory by type
(secure/insecure).
She developed each type
through a series of
observational studies called
“ the strange situation.”
9.
10. Secure Attachment
Babies will freely explore their environment
and occasionally return to parent for comfort.
Babies will cry when parent leaves, but crying
quickly stops when parent returns.
Most babies have a secure attachment to their
caregiver (60%).
11. ( Insecure) Anxious-Ambivalent
Attachment
Babies are reluctant to leave the side of the
parent.
Babies show hostility toward parent upon
return, often crying for extended periods.
About 10% of babies are found to have
anxious-ambivalent attachment.
12. (Insecure) Avoidant Attachment
Babies show little interest in parent, often not
crying when parent leaves.
Upon return, babies continue to show little
interest and will not seek contact comfort.
About 15% of babies show an avoidant
attachment.
13. (Insecure) Disorganized Attachment
Main and Solomon (1986)
Babies show no consistent reactions.
Both anxious-ambivalent and avoidant
attachment are present.
Babies appear to make little, if any, eye contact.
About 15% of babies are found to have
disorganized attachment.
14. Attachment and Personality Development
Secure: confident, trusting, friendly
Anxious-Ambivalent: jealous, not confident,
underappreciated
Avoidant: suspicious, aloof, skeptical
Disorganized: moody, fearful, stress sensitivity
15. Interesting Controversy
On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant
the Gift of Nighttime Sleep is a book written
by Gary Ezzo (former MVCC student) and
Robert Bucknam.
The book encouraged parents to “direct” the
feeding, sleeping, and play activities of the
newborn.
Attachment proponents became critical
calming the book encouraged the disruption
of the attachment process.
19. References
• Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1968), Object relations, dependency, and
attachment: A theoretical review of the infant mother relationship.
Child Development, 40, 969-1025.
• Bowlby, J. (1958), The nature of the child’s tie to his mother. International
Journal of Psycho-Analysis, XXXIX, 1-23.
• Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy
human development. New York: Basic Books.
• Ezzo, Gary; Bucknam, Robert (2007). On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your
Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep (4 ed.). Parent-Wise Solutions.
• Harlow, H. F. (1958). The nature of love. American Psychologist, 13,
673-685
• Hinde, R. A. (1991). Relationships, attachment, and culture: A tribute to
John Bowlby. Infant Mental Health Journal, 12, 154-163.