A brief history and overview of attachment theory

1. Attachment Theory

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.”

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.

16. Guess The Attachment Style
The Grinch
Avoidant?

17. Guess the Attachment Style
Lindsey Lohan
Anxious-Ambivalent?

18. Guess the Attachment Style
Dr. Phil
Secure?

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.