Republic of the Philippines

BOHOL ISLAND STATE UNIVERSITY-BILAR

Zamora, Bilar, Bohol

Prepared by: Binangbang, Jaycel B. (Reporter)

Palapar, Marianita C.
Tiongco, Jocel B.
Polinar, April Joice A.
Instructor: Prof. Alma Vilma S. Paelmao
Topic: Attachment Theory (John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth)

Presentation Date: October 17, 2023, 1:00 PM

ATTACHMENT THEORY
What is attachment?

Encarta Dictionaries- it is an emotional bond or tie to somebody or something.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary- it is a strong feelings of affection or loyalty for someone or something.

Svanberg, 2005-“Attachment is a bond which ties the mother and baby together. It emerges out of
evolution. It developed in order to protect us from predators, it is central to our survival and what we
are beginning to realise now is that it's also central to our well-being.”

Laura Berk- "Attachment is a strong, affectionate tie we have with special people in our lives that lead
us to experience pleasure when we interact with time and to be comforted by nearness in times of
stress".

Attachment Theory

Attachment theory is a concept in developmental psychology that concerns the importance of

"attachment" in regards to personal development.

John Bowlby -The First Theorist of Attachment Theory

o He is a British Child Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst. He was the first attachment theorist, describing
attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings".

o John Bowlby, is widely credited with having put a "scientific" name to motherly love and to the widely
held assumptions as to its importance to the mother's child. He called his premises 'Attachment Theory'.
o Bowlby believed that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendous
impact that continues throughout life.

o According to Bowlby, attachment also serves to keep the infant close to the mother, thus improving
the child's chances of survival.

o Bowlby's first formal statement of attachment theory was published in The Nature of the Child's Tie To
His Mother (1958).

o According to him, maternal separation in kids can be seen through 3 phases. These are:

Protest- involves demonstration of distress at separation and attempts to regain her by crying loudly,
throwing oneself around etc.

Despair- it is the "quiet" stage in which the child is in a state of mourning and is withdrawn and
undermining. Intermittent or monotonous crying may occur.

Detachment- it is considered a sign of recovery as the child shows more interested in the environment.
When the mother visits, the child shows no interest in her and may turn away.

Theory of Origin

o John Bowlby first formulated the attachment theory after he wrote a pamphlet on the homeless and
orphaned children of WW2.

o During the 1970's, Mary Ainsworth expanded greatly upon Bowlby's work.
o Ideas now guiding attachment theory joint work of Bowlby and Ainsworth (Ainsworth and Bowlby,
1991)

o Both (directly or indirectly) were influenced by Freud and other psychoanalytic thinkers.

o Bowlby: Being attached provided you with comfort and protection to do what you needed to do as a
child.

Ainsworth: The secure base was the primary benefit or value of being attached.

o In attachment theory, "Humans have evolved a built in attachment system that is necessary for the
survival and adaptation of our species.

o This research led John Bowlby to theorize that infants had a biological need for contact comfort (love).

o John Bowlby believed that mental health and behavioral problems could be attributed to early
childhood.

o Infants are biologically programmed to coo, smile, and flirt to get an emotional response from the
caregiver (attachment).

o Bowlby believed that attachment behaviors are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that
seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such as separation, insecurity and fear.
o Bowlby also postulated that the fear of strangers represents an important survival mechanism, built in
by nature. Babies are born with the tendency to display certain innate behaviors, called social releasers
which help ensure proximity and contact with the mother or attachment figure.

o Bowlby hypothesized that both infants and mothers have evolved a biological need to stay in contact
with each other.

o Bowlby applied ethology to infants

o He was very influenced by the work of ethologists, people who study animal behavior, especially
Konrad Lorenz and his work on imprinting.

o According to Lorenz imprinting is the evolved, innate ability of animals to make an attachment to the
first thing they see. This is usually their biological mother. This provides protection and allows them to
learn behavior important for survival.

o Bowlby uses the word 'attachment' instead of imprinting.

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

ATTACHMENT STAGES

Pre-Attachment Stage. From birth to 3 months, infants do not show any particular attachment to a
specific caregiver. The infant's signals, such as crying and fussing,naturally attract the attention of the
caregiver and the baby's positive responses encourage the caregiver to remain close.

Indiscriminate Attachment. Between 6 weeks of age to 7 months, infants begin to show preferences for
primary and secondary caregivers. Infants develop trust that the caregiver will respond to their needs.
While they still accept care from others, infants start distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar
people, responding more positively to the primary caregiver.

Discriminate Attachment. At this point, from about 7 to 11 months of age, infants show a strong
attachment and preference for one specific individual. They will protest when separated from the
primary attachment figure (separation anxiety), and begin to display anxiety around strangers (stranger
anxiety).

Multiple Attachments. After approximately 9 months of age, children begin to form strong emotional
bonds with other caregivers beyond the primary attachment figure. This often includes a second parent,
older siblings, and grandparents.

Mary Ainsworth- theorist expanding the concept of Bowlby

Mary Dinsmore Ainsworth was an American-Canadian developmental psychologist known for her work
in the development of the attachment theory. She designed the strange situation procedure to observe
early emotional attachment between a child and their primary caregiver.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation Experiment

Attachment Styles

Three patterns of attachment:

Secure (70% of sample)

Insecure - avoidant (15%)

Insecure - ambivalent (15%)

"Ainsworth suggested that attachment type was determined by primary carer's (mother's) behaviour
and how sensitive the carer is to the child's needs."

Secure Attachment

-Distressed when mother is not around

-Positive & happy when the mother returns

-Avoidant of stranger when alone but friendly when mother is present

- Will use the mother as a safe base to explore their environment

-Associated with sensitive & responsive primary care

-Characteristic of 70% of infants

Avoidant-Insecure Attachment

-No sign of distress by mother's absence

-Showed little interest when she returned

- Infant is okay with stranger and plays normally when stranger is present

-Stranger will be treated similar to the mother (does not seek contact).

-Mother & stranger are able to comfort infant equally well

-Mothers tend to be insensitive or not interested in children

-Research has suggested that this attachment style might be a result of abusive or neglectful

caregivers.

-Characteristic of 15% of infants

Resistant Attachment

-Intensely distressed when mother left

-Apparent fear of stranger - and avoids stranger

-Clinginess mixed with rejection on return may approach mother but may resist contact (or even push
her away)

-Fear of exploration (insecure behaviour) and cries more Research suggests that ambivalent attachment
is a result of poor maternal availability. These children cannot depend on their mother (or caregiver) to
be there when the child is in need

-Characteristic of 15% of infants

Researchers Main and Solomon added a fourth attachment style known as disorganized-insecure
attachment. Numerous studies have supported Ainsworth's conclusions and additional research has
revealed that these early attachment styles can help predict behaviors later in life.
Attachment Through Life

Before you start blaming relationship problems on your parents, it is important to note that attachment
styles formed during early childhood are not necessarily identical to those demonstrated in adult
romantic attachments. A great deal of time has elapsed between infancy and adulthood, so intervening
experiences also play a large role in adult attachment styles.

Those described as ambivalent or avoidant during childhood can become securely attached as adults,
while those with a secure attachment in childhood can show insecure attachment patterns in adulthood.
Basic temperament is also thought to play a partial role in attachment.

So what role might factor such as divorce or parental discord play in the formation of attachment styles?
In one study, Hazan and Shaver found that parental divorce seemed unrelated to attachment style.

Instead, their research indicated that the best predictor of adult attachment style was the perceptions
that people have about the quality of their relationships with their parents as well as their parent's
relationship with each other.
But research in this area does indicate that patterns established in childhood have an important impact
on later relationships. Hazan and Shaver also found varied beliefs about relationships amongst adults
with differing attachment styles.

Securely attached adults tend to believe that romantic love is enduring. Ambivalently attached adults
report falling in love often, while those with avoidant attachment styles describe love as rare and
temporary.

While we cannot say that early attachment styles are identical to adult romantic attachment, research
has shown that early attachment styles can help predict patterns of behavior in adulthood.

ATTACHMENT AND THE CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

In an ideal home, an infant will cry, smile, laugh, and even move his body in certain ways to
communicate his needs to a parent, generally his mother. She responds to the infant’s needs and the
“dance” between mother and infant is repeated over and over. Of course, a father can also create this
dance. As the parent consistently meets the needs of the infant and the child, he begins to feel secure in
his surroundings and grows to feel confident, positive, and comfortable with himself.

When a child has developmental delays, the dance between parent and child may not be as easy to
achieve. For example, a premature infant who has developmental delays may not smile at the typical
four to six weeks corrected age, she may not be able to coo, clap her hands, or even sit on the floor and
play with mom and dad as a term child can. She may not give clear messages as to when she is hungry,
tired, or overstimulated. If the parent has a difficult time understanding the babies cues, or the baby
does not respond as expected, the “dance” is interrupted and the synchrony between them can be
broken. Also, when a child is dependent on her mother for needs beyond the routine feeding, holding,
playing each day, the dynamics of love between them can change. The mom may have to switch back
and forth between the roles of being a nurse and mother, which can confuse both her and the child.

Because attachment is so critical to a child’s well-being, and attachment can be more difficult when a
child has special needs, parents need to take extra effort to understand their special child. From the
moment the child arrives home, parents must watch carefully and learn what each behavior means
through patterns, body and verbal language, and how he tolerates your interactions. He may be saying
that he is ready for more touching, talking, or playing, or that he’s had enough. As he grows he will be
able to communicate more and more in his own special way. What’s important is that parents respond
appropriately. Kangaroo care, infant/child massage, and even yoga for kids are excellent tools for
creating a bond between parent and child. The absolute key to developing a securely attached child is
making him feel as if he is the center of the universe and that his parents understand and believes in him
no matter what obstacles he may face.
Although the dance between parent and child may be more difficult to achieve when the child has
special needs, it is equally—probably more—important. A securely attached child, and then adult, will
have an optimistic and balanced life, and will most often contribute positively to the world.

Thank you and God bless.