Factors Influencing A Person 's Developmental Stages

John Bowlby developed his Attachment Theory to examine and explore the contextual relationships between a child and their caregiver and their behavioral repercussions. He describes it is “a way of conceptualizing the propensity of human beings to make strong affectional bonds to particular others and of explaining the many forms of emotional distress and personality disturbance, including anxiety, anger, depression, and emotional detachment, to which unwilling separation and loss give rise” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 127). An infant’s attachment to their primary caregiver establishes a sense of security, through protection, so the infant is able to explore the world with confidence and without threat and risk. During a child’s

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.

Attachment is described as an "affectionate reciprocal relationship between an individual and another individual." Much psychological research has been carried out into the types of attachments that infants form with their caregivers, and the results gained from these studies show how early attachments can affect children whether positively or negatively.

In 1958, the Attachment theory came into existence. It was developed by John Bowlby on the notion that the quality of the parent -child relationship was essential for development and mental health (Howe, 2011, pg, 7). This thinking was in the context of distress shown by children when separated from their parents or when in unfamiliar surroundings. While having credit for the emergence of the attachment theory, Bowlby subsequently carried out a lot of research work with Mary Ainsworth concluding that children view their attachment figures as both a ?safe haven? to return to for comfort and protection and also a ?secure base? from which to explore their environment. The birth of children gives rise to the need to feel loved and wanted by caregivers, (Maclean and Harrison,2015 pg, 103), the absence of which might result in a range of behaviors to either

Another concept through which the presenting issue can be examined, is by focusing on Brian and Steve’s attachment style with their family of origin. Bowlby (1979) deliberated that in-order for babies to survive, there is a biological drive to seek proximity to the primary caregiver. An individual’s ability to respond, process elements of their dynamic environment and store these internal representation in their neurobiology to aid survival, forms the premise of attachment theory (Perry & Pollard, 1998). There are four attachment styles: secure attachment, avoidant attachment, ambivalent attachment and disorganised attachment. The characteristic of behaviour in individuals varies significantly between each styles. A securely attached

In addition, according to (Del Giudice & Belsky, 2010), parents have a profound effect on children; potentially generating different patterns of attachment (Barthlomew & Horowitz, 1991). The types of attachment includes secure attachment, which is thought to result from a positive and affirming bond with one’s primary caregiver and to result in a tendency towards

The formation of attachment begins at birth with the child forming some type or form of attachment with their parents or primary caregiver. Hopefully, the child is able to form a proper or secure attachment with their parent or primary caregivers because the attachment formed between the parents or primary caregiver acts the foundation for how well the child will be able to form attachments with others outside the immediate family (Gullone, Ollendick, King,2006).This is because the type or level of attachment the child was able to form with his or her parent generally predicts the type or level of attachment the child will form with others outside their intermediate family. However, as the individual interacts with the outside world more and

Attachment theory in developmental terms is a close secure lasting bond that occurs between an infant/child and a care provider. This is a deep connection that starts to develop from the time of conception and continues on to flourish and establish itself in the early years of the child’s life. Bowlby, (1998) suggests that a child does need to develop a foundation with at least one primary care provider for their social and emotional development.

Attachment is a key developmental goal in early childhood, and refers to the evolutionary drive for a young child to maintain proximity with a caregiver for the purposes of safety, protection, and regulation. Once attachments have been formed, the child can use the caregiver as a secure base to explore the environment and as a source of support and comfort when distressed. Young children begin to develop attachments with caregivers at a cognitive age of about 7 to 9 months; at this time the child will begin to show a preference for the attached person and may begin to object to being separated or show wariness with other, less familiar adults.

The first relationships we form with our caregivers forms a pathway in which we continue to follow in future social interactions as we get older. This initial emotional bond, whether secure, insecure or ambivalent, typical is formed with our mom and dad, is known as attachment. John Bowlby, presented his theory regarding the stages in attachment development in 1969. In the primary stage of preattachment, beginning from birth to around six weeks of age, occurs when newborns develop sensory preferences that allow them to form connections with the primary caregiver, typically the mother. In the second stage, attachment in the making, infants develop a form of stranger anxiety and can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar faces.

A child’s attachment style is determined by specific behaviors, such as seeking closeness with the primary caregiver when

All of this evidence suggests that parasocial relationships are comparable, if not exactly equivalent, to an individual’s real-life relationships. Consequently, one can see important implications for attachment theory, which describes characteristic patterns of interpersonal attachment among individuals. According to attachment theory, an individual’s interactions with others are influenced by the childhood relationship with his or her primary caregiver (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980; Hazan & Shaver, 1987). Over time, these early experiences and interactions form “working models” of attachment, or cognitive representations of self and others, that revolve around the regulation and fulfillment of the infant’s needs. The end result is a characteristic

Whether they are sick, tired, hungry, or upset, caregivers of children with secure attachment most times consistently engage the child when cued, and provide predictable, supportive emotional and physical reactions that the child has learned to rely on. Conversely, in avoidant attachment caregivers have demonstrated that they cannot be relied on to provide emotional support in response to the child’s needs. The caregivers have either reacted to the child’s distress in a cold manner or ignored them completely. Children who are insecurely ambivalent attached often have caregivers that are inconsistent in their response to the child’s distress. The child exhibits escalating behavior such as cries turning into shrieks and screaming. They appear to want contact with the caregiver through cues, but will resist contact when attempted by the caregiver. Disorganized attachment is a result of a caregiver who is inappropriate in their response to their child, responding sexually, physically or verbally abusive. The children may present with odd behavior and act out. (Arxcis, 2017).

Attachment is the emotional connection we share with those whom we feel closest (Lilinfield, 2012), especially primary caregiver. Infant attachment styles were quantified by The Strange Situation test that has been developed by Mary Ainsworth (Peterson, 2012). There are three styles of attachment which are secure attachment (Type B), insecure avoidant attachment (Type A) and anxious- ambivalent insecure attachment (Type C). Adults with Type B attachment secure relationship was characterised by intimate, comfort in being emotionally close, trust and also self-disclosure. Meanwhile, relationship of Type A attachment people were described as superficial, cold and aloof. They were also reluctant to have a long-term commitment to relationship.

Attachment theory is a concept that explores the importance of attachment in respect to direct development. “It is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space” (Bowlby, 1969; McLeod, 2009). It is the relationship that develops within the first year of the infant’s life between them and their caregiver. The theory also relates to the quality of the attachment that is shown in the behavior of the infant (Rieser-Danner, 2016). Attachment theory shows that infants need a close nurturing relationship with their caregiver in order to have a healthy relationship. Lack of response from the caregiver