Attachment

• Attachment


  A strong emotional bond between an infant and their caregiver
• John Bowlby


  Proposed the theory of attachment
• Bowlby's Monotropic Theory


  • Infants form one primary attachment which is more important than others and serves as a model for future relationships
• Critical period (according to Bowlby)


  Time period (0-2.5 years) during which an attachment must form if it is to form at all
• Internal working model


  A mental representation of the self and others, which guides future relationships
• Mary Ainsworth


  Conducted the Strange Situation experiment
• Types of attachment identified by Ainsworth

  • Secure attachment
  • Insecure-avoidant attachment
  • Insecure-resistant attachment
• Secure attachment


  • Infants show distress when separated from the caregiver, joy when reunited, and use the caregiver as a secure base for exploration
• Insecure-avoidant attachment


  • Infants show little distress when separated and avoid the caregiver upon reunion
• Insecure-resistant attachment


  • Infants show intense distress when separated and are ambivalent upon reunion, seeking and resisting contact
• Lorenz's study with goslings

  Demonstrated the concept of imprinting, where young animals follow and form an attachment to the first moving object they see
• Harlow's study with rhesus monkeys

  Demonstrated the importance of contact comfort over food in the formation of attachment
• Learning theory of attachment

  Attachment is a learned behavior based on the principles of operant and classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning in the context of attachment

  Infants learn to form attachments through reinforcement (e.g., crying leads to being fed)
• Classical conditioning in the context of attachment


  Infants form attachments through association (e.g., the caregiver is associated with food)
• Role of the father in attachment

  • Fathers often serve as playmates and provide stimulation, although they can also form secure attachments with their children
• Maternal deprivation (according to Bowlby)


  Long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties resulting from a lack of continuous care from a primary caregiver during the critical period
• Romanian orphan studies by Rutter et al.


  The negative effects of institutionalization can be mitigated if children are adopted into loving families before six months of age
• Privation vs. Deprivation


  Privation is the lack of any attachment bond, while deprivation is the loss of or damage to an established attachment bond
• Social releasers


  Innate behaviors shown by an infant that lead to a caregiving response (e.g., smiling, crying)
• Reciprocity in attachment


  The mutual exchange of signals and responses between an infant and caregiver, leading to bonding
• Interactional synchrony


  The coordinated interaction between caregiver and infant, where they respond to each other in a rhythmic and reciprocal manner
• Continuity hypothesis


  The idea that the quality of early attachment relationships influences later emotional and social development
• Implications of attachment research for childcare practices

  • Emphasizes the importance of consistent caregiving, sensitive responsiveness, and secure attachment figures in early childhood settings
• Influence of secure attachment on later relationships

  Securely attached individuals tend to have healthier, more stable relationships in adulthood