Attachment Theory. Haley Woodley . Texas Woman’S University.

The attachment style that an individual exhibits as an infant can affect their adult romantic relationships. An attachment pattern is established in early childhood attachments and continues to function as a working model for relationships in adulthood. This model of attachment influences how each of us reacts to our needs and how we go about getting them met. The ability to recognize one 's attachment can help someone to understand their strengths and vulnerabilities in a relationship.

Attachment is the emotional bond between humans, which is based on our relationship with a parent or early caregiver during the years of childhood. There are four different attachment styles – secure, preoccupied, dismissive, and fearful – each describing a different way in which individuals interact with others, approach social and romantic relationships, and deal with life.

Everyone has an attachment style from which they developed in the first two years of their life. This attachment style tends to stay consistent with each person throughout their lifetime and affects their social-emotional development, and thus relationships with other people. Attachment styles greatly affect the choice one makes in life partners, and how they parent their own children. It is important for everyone to gain insight on their own attachment style if they are to know their emotional limits and how to strengthen their flaws in order to develop a better-self and stronger relationships with other people (Norcross, 2011). It is even more so important for caregivers to be aware of their attachment style and how sensitively available they are to the children in their lives. How the primary caregiver responds to the child’s needs, determines the attachment style the child will acquire. To develop a secure attachment the child needs to establish confidence in a reliable caregiver. In this paper I will be talking about the behaviors and interactions that I observed while watching the film “Babies”, and what attachment styles may be formed as a result of those interactions.

The term ‘attachment’ is used by psychologists who study the child’s early relationships. An attachment is a unique emotional bond normal between a child and an adult. A theorist called John Bowlby (1970-90) had a relation to the attachment theory. In 1950s John identified that when children and

A child wants to be liked and is bonding with their caregivers. This bonding is called “attachment.

Attachment is an emotional bond that is created between one person to another across a life span. Attachment can be a connection between two individuals, but it is a bond that involves a regular contact with that person and also expressed distress when separated from that person. Also, attachment can play an important role during childhood, adolescent and romantic relationships. Attachment tends to be enduring and meaningful because it can last for a long time between people. However, being attached can motivate children to stay close to people that they love. Attachment can also help people build emotional bond between each others, that can have a secure base so that people can safely explore their environment. Although studies have shown that children who are securely attached can also develop an increase of independence and confidence. Meanwhile, children who are not securely attached can develop risks such as poor internal working models in life.

A healthy or secure attachment develops over time because of a caregiver’s consistent, sensitive care that they have towards a young child. Each time a caregiver interacts in ways that focus fully on the individual child, it furthers connections. When a caregiver attempts to read a baby’s cues and tries to respond to the child’s needs and wishes, the baby learns the caregiver is a source of comfort and security. Children with secure attachments learn that their world is a safe place because the people in it are caring and understanding. They also learn that their ways of communicating result in others responding and understanding them. This reinforces their efforts to continue to express themselves to others. Consistent back-and-forth exchanges that happen over time are one of the ways to build positive relationships. Children with secure attachments feel confident in exploring their environment, which allows them to learn. It’s the accumulation of intimacy during these numerous interactions that turns ordinary tasks into a relationship-based curriculum.

Attachment is an affectional tie that an infant forms with a caregiver—a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time [1]. Though attachment can be formed in different ways. Attachment can be used in a relationship, such as, a women growing extreme feelings for a man and the feeling is mutual, but the women begins to always wanting to be around. Though, this essay will not cover intimate relationships. This essay will be covering attachment among infants and how their stages of attachment with their caregivers.

Attachment is a term used to describe the dependency relationship a child develops towards his or her primary caregivers. It is first observable during the latter half of the first year of life and develops progressively over the first four years of life. It is most readily observed in the behavior of children when they are sick, injured, tired, anxious, hungry or thirsty. Although early attachment research focused on the mother and infant, it is now generally accepted that children develop multiple attachment relationships. An ‘attachment figure’ is defined as someone who provides physical and emotional care has continuity and consistency in the child’s life, and who has an emotional investment in the child’s life. This can include parents (biological, foster, adopted), grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and alternate caregivers (e.g. child-care workers). Given that children are able to form multiple attachments, the question has been asked as to which attachment relationship is most influential on children’s developmental outcomes.

According to attachment theory, quality attachment relationships have the ability to teach infants and children to tolerate states of arousal, explore the surrounding environment, and manage emotions in developmentally appropriate ways (source). An infant’s ability to survival and development is dependent on a suitable caregiver. This theory suggests that attachment behaviors are biologically based, as the cry of an infant is a signal to the attachment figure to respond to the infant. Attachment experiences are significant for the development of a variety of skills and capacities, including social competence, problem-solving, motivation, capacity for empathy, the ability to form friendships, and the ability to rely on other adults when necessary (source). Internalized working model is a concept of attachment theory. An internalized working model refers to a child’s inner representation of attachment experience and interaction with the attachment figure. If the child had a responsive caregiver their internalized working model will provide them with a sense of self as lovable and worthy. If the child had an unresponsive caregiver then their internalized working model may provide them with a sense of self as being unlovable or unworthy (source). In addition, attachment theory also provides attachment classifications based on the attunement and responsiveness of the dyadic relationship between the caregiver and infant.

Attachment theory, originally developed by British psychoanalyst John Bowlby (1907-1990), is based on caregiver-child relationships. Bowlby indicated that the attachment style developed in infancy, has a true correlation to our adult relationships, and is a result of recurring interpersonal interactions with caregivers during childhood. Children develop different attachment styles based on their experience and interactions with primary caregivers. Several various ways of evaluating attachment in children have been introduced. One such evaluation mentioned in our textbook, Lifespan Development, 2014 the Strange Situation Protocol was developed by Mary Ainsworth (Boyd & Bee, 2014, p.136 ). These attachments styles have been linked to how we form attachments as adolescents and even into adulthood and consists of four main attachment styles; Secure, Insecure -avoidant, Insecure-ambivalent and insecure- disorganized.

Attachment states to a particular strong bond with a specific person or persons. The bond among the person is emotional and effective, and the person that an infant bond to in this way is known as an attachment figure as said by Schaffer(1977),there are three ways in which attachment can be developed. There are three ways in which attachment can be developed. The first one is when the new born baby is attached to any human; secondary, they learn to differentiate between the primary and secondary caregivers, but accept care from anyone and finally they focus attachment on a single specific attachment figure

The main theory used in this study will be attachment theory, which is a model that attempts to describe the dynamics of long-term interpersonal relationships between humans. Originally Attachment Theory was developed to see how interactions between a parents and child shaped the child’s personality but later it evolved to include other relationships such as romantic partners, siblings, and friendships. (Baxter & Braitwaithe 2008). Attachment style are believed to be formed in early childhood through interactions with the primary caregiver (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991).

The experience of attachment is one of pleasure and comfort, crucial in the healthy development of forming relationships for infants and children. The concept of attachment is a positive emotional bond between a child and an individual of particular importance to the child. According to the earliest of scientific developments, children who form social bonds with their direct caregivers ultimately lead a more well-balanced and fulfilling life. Forming the appropriate

Attachment is the foundation for a strong relationship between caregivers and children. Children usually become attached to the person who cares for them most often during their first year of life. There is secure and insecure attachment which can affect a child and their future.