1. Attachment theory focuses on the bonds between people, especially long-term bonds like between parents and children or romantic partners. 2. John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist and found that secure attachment is formed when caregivers respond consistently to an infant's needs, creating a sense of security for the child. 3. There are four stages of attachment - pre-attachment, indiscriminate attachment, discriminate attachment, and multiple attachments - that occur from birth to around 18 months as infants form bonds with caregivers.

1. BY SAQIB SHAMIM

2. WHAT IS ATTACHMENT THEORY
Attachment theory focuses on relationships and bonds
(particularly long-term) between people, including those
between a parent and child and between romantic
partners.

3. HISTORY OF ATTACHMENT
THEORY
British psychologist John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist. He
described attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between
human beings."1 Bowlby was interested in understanding the anxiety and
distress that children experience when separated from their primary
caregivers.
Bowlby observed that feedings did not diminish separation anxiety.2
Instead, he found that attachment was characterized by clear
behavioural and motivation patterns. When children are frightened,
they seek proximity from their primary caregiver in order to receive
both comfort and care.

4. What Is Attachment?
The central theme of attachment theory is that primary
caregivers who are available and responsive to an infant's
needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. The
infant learns that the caregiver is dependable, which
creates a secure base for the child to then explore the
world.

5. STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
Researchers Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson analyzed the
number of attachment relationships that infants form in a longitudinal
study with 60 infants. The infants were observed every four weeks
during the first year of life, and then once again at 18 months.
Based on their observations, Schaffer and Emerson outlined four
distinct phases of attachment, including

6. Pre-Attachment Stage
From birth to 3 months, infants do not show any particular attachment to a specific caregiver. The infant's
signals, such as crying and fussing, naturally attract the attention of the caregiver and the baby's positive
responses encourage the caregiver to remain close.
Indiscriminate Attachment
Between 6 weeks of age to 7 months, infants begin to show preferences for primary and secondary
caregivers. Infants develop trust that the caregiver will respond to their needs. While they still accept care
from others, infants start distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar people, responding more
positively to the primary caregiver.
Discriminate Attachment
At this point, from about 7 to 11 months of age, infants show a strong attachment and preference for one
specific individual. They will protest when separated from the primary attachment figure (separation
anxiety), and begin to display anxiety around strangers (stranger anxiety).
Multiple Attachments
After approximately 9 months of age, children begin to form strong emotional bonds with other caregivers
beyond the primary attachment figure. This often includes a second parent, older siblings, and
grandparents.

7. TYPES OF ATTACHMENT
1. Secure Attachment
The secure attachment style signifies
a warm and loving bond between
parent and child. The child feels
loved and cared for and develops the
ability to form healthy relationships
with those around them.
Children with secure attachment
styles are active and demonstrate
confidence in their interactions with
others.
Those who develop secure
attachment styles in childhood are
likely to carry this healthy way of
bonding into adulthood and have no
problem building long-term
relationships without fear of
abandonment.

8. Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment
Anxious-ambivalent children tend to distrust
caregivers, and this insecurity often means that
their environment is explored with trepidation
rather than excitement.
They constantly seek approval from their
caregivers and continuously observe their
surroundings for fear of being abandoned.
Those who developed under the ‘anxious-
ambivalent’ attachment style, tend to carry what
they have learned into adulthood, and very
often feel unloved by their partners whilst
finding it difficult to express love and connection
themselves.

9. Avoidant attachment
Children who have developed under
the ‘avoidant’ style have learned to
accept that their emotional needs are
likely to remain unmet and continue to
grow up feeling unloved and
insignificant.
They often struggle with expressing
their feelings and find it hard
understanding emotions – in
adulthood; they tend to avoid intimate
relationships.

10. Disorganised attachment
Disorganised attachment is a
combination of avoidant and anxious
attachment, and children that fit into
this group often display intense anger
and rage. They may break toys and
behave in other volatile ways – they
also have difficult relationships with
caregivers.
Children developed under the
‘disorganised’ attachment style, tend to
avoid intimate relationships as adults
and can very easily explode and have a
difficult time controlling their
emotions.

11. WHAT IS PASSIONATE LOVE
Hatfield defines
passionate love as "a
state of intense longing
for union with another."
This type of love tends
to be more common at
the outset of a
relationship.

12. KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF PASSIONATE
LOVE
• Intrusive Thoughts About the Partner: People often experience almost constant
thoughts about the person they are in love with.
• The Idealization of the Other Person or the Relationship: People
in passionate love tend to believe that the object of their affections can do no wrong.
• A Strong Desire to Know and Be Known: People in passionate love want
to know everything about their partner. They also want their partner to know everything about
them.
• Strong Emotions About the Other Person: People in this type of
love feel good when things are going well, but may be devastated when things go awry.

13. WHAT IS COMPANIONATE
LOVE
compassionate love is
characterised by its level of
intimacy. Compassionate love,
also called companionate
love, is about intimacy, trust,
commitment, and affection. In
a long-term relationship,
passionate love typically
simmers down to
compassionate love within
one to two years.

14. Key Characteristics of Companionate love
• Long-Term Commitment: Companionate love is
marked by a long-lasting and enduring commitment to each
other.
• Deep Intimacy: People who share compassionate love
are able to share every aspect of themselves with each other.
Mutual sharing of feelings and concerns is a hallmark of this
form of love.
• Trust: Compassionate love is marked by a deep trust in the
other person.