Attachment
Attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby. He suggested that children have an innate tendency to form relationships (attachments) with people around them to increase their chance of survival.
Bonding is sometimes used synonymously with attachment, but the two are different. Bonding concerns the mothers feelings for her infant and differs from attachment.
Children normally single out a primary caregiver (usually but not always the mother) from about 1-3 months. Bowlby referred to the primary care giver as the principle attachment figure. He referred to other attachments as subsidiary attachment figures. He referred to the child's bias towards a single figure as monotropy.
Initially, babies show a positive response to strangers (between 14-18 weeks), this is normally replaced by stranger anxiety at around 8 months.
When an infant is separated from their main carer it is common for them to become anxious (aka separation anxiety). Separation anxiety is most common when an infant is 10 - 18 months and usually diminishes by year three.
The quality of a persons early attachments appears is associated with their adult behaviour. Poor attachments tend to lead to withdrawn individuals who struggle to form relationships, where as good attachments are associated with socially competent adults who are able to form healthy relationships. Attachment behaviour tends to be stable over the lifetime.
Specific attachment does not seem to take place before 6 months. The time from 6 months to 36 months is known as the critical period. During this time a child is most vulnerable to interruptions in its attachment.
Attachments are divided into secure and insecure types. Insecure types are further divided into avoidant and ambivalent types.
The key stages and features of Bowlby's attachment model are summarised in the following table:
Bowlby also proposed the idea of an internal working model. This is held to be the product of attachment experiences and represents a persons view of the external world.
Harlow's monkey's
The importance of the need for closeness over food was demonstrated in an experiment by Harlow known as 'Harlow's monkeys'.
Harlow's experiment involved giving young rhesus monkeys a choice between two different 'mothers.' One was made of soft terrycloth, but provided no food. The other was made of wire, but provided food from an attached baby bottle.
Harlow removed young monkeys from their natural mothers a few hours after birth and left them to be 'raised' by these mother surrogates. The experiment demonstrated that the baby monkeys spent significantly more time with their cloth mother than with their wire mother.
Bonding is sometimes used synonymously with attachment, but the two are different. Bonding concerns the mothers feelings for her infant and differs from attachment.
Children normally single out a primary caregiver (usually but not always the mother) from about 1-3 months. Bowlby referred to the primary care giver as the principle attachment figure. He referred to other attachments as subsidiary attachment figures. He referred to the child's bias towards a single figure as monotropy.
Initially, babies show a positive response to strangers (between 14-18 weeks), this is normally replaced by stranger anxiety at around 8 months.
When an infant is separated from their main carer it is common for them to become anxious (aka separation anxiety). Separation anxiety is most common when an infant is 10 - 18 months and usually diminishes by year three.
The quality of a persons early attachments appears is associated with their adult behaviour. Poor attachments tend to lead to withdrawn individuals who struggle to form relationships, where as good attachments are associated with socially competent adults who are able to form healthy relationships. Attachment behaviour tends to be stable over the lifetime.
Specific attachment does not seem to take place before 6 months. The time from 6 months to 36 months is known as the critical period. During this time a child is most vulnerable to interruptions in its attachment.
Attachments are divided into secure and insecure types. Insecure types are further divided into avoidant and ambivalent types.
The key stages and features of Bowlby's attachment model are summarised in the following table:
| Stage | Period | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Preattachment | Birth to 6 weeks | Baby orientates towards mother, follows them with their eyes, and turns to mother's voice. Complete attachment not yet complete and baby is still comfortable with unfamiliar people |
| Attachment in the making | 6 weeks to 6-8 months | Infant becomes more attached to one or more persons in the environment. Begins to show different reactions to familiar people versus strangers. Separation anxiety not yet present |
| Clear cut attachment | 6-8 months to 18-24 months | Infant cries and shows distress when separated from the caregiver (separation anxiety). This phase can occur as early as 3 months. On being returned to the caregiver the crying stops. Child shows preference for selective caregivers and will seek to be near them |
| Formation of reciprocal attachment | 18 months to 2 years and on | Child begins to understand that their caregiver may leave and return so separation anxiety lessens. Child may be less physically clingy but may begin to find more intelligent ways to influence their caregiver to get their needs met (bribing and sulking for instance) |
Bowlby also proposed the idea of an internal working model. This is held to be the product of attachment experiences and represents a persons view of the external world.
Harlow's monkey's
The importance of the need for closeness over food was demonstrated in an experiment by Harlow known as 'Harlow's monkeys'.
Harlow's experiment involved giving young rhesus monkeys a choice between two different 'mothers.' One was made of soft terrycloth, but provided no food. The other was made of wire, but provided food from an attached baby bottle.
Harlow removed young monkeys from their natural mothers a few hours after birth and left them to be 'raised' by these mother surrogates. The experiment demonstrated that the baby monkeys spent significantly more time with their cloth mother than with their wire mother.
