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Quality Of Attachment Theory Essay

541 Words3 Pages

Attachment is a fundamental concept in developmental psychology that refers to the emotional bond between a child and their primary caregiver. The attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby, suggests that the quality of attachment formed in childhood has profound implications for an individual's emotional, social, and cognitive development throughout their life. In this essay, I will discuss the concept of attachment in childhood and explain how it may affect our behavior in later life. According to Bowlby, infants are biologically predisposed to seek proximity and contact with their caregivers as a survival mechanism. Through repeated interactions with their caregiver, infants develop an internal working model of attachment, which influences their expectations of relationships with others. The quality of attachment is …show more content…

They feel safe and secure when the caregiver is present, and are able to explore the environment freely. This type of attachment sets the foundation for healthy emotional regulation, self-esteem, and social competence in later life. Avoidant attachment occurs when caregivers are consistently unresponsive or reject the infant's bids for contact and comfort. Infants with avoidant attachment tend to avoid their caregivers and may appear indifferent to their presence. This attachment style can lead to emotional detachment, difficulties with intimacy, and a tendency to suppress emotions in later life. Ambivalent attachment arises when caregivers are inconsistent in their responsiveness to the infant's needs, alternating between nurturing and neglectful behaviors. Infants with ambivalent attachment tend to be clingy and anxious, and may have difficulty regulating their emotions. This attachment style can result in heightened emotional reactivity and a tendency to over-analyze social interactions in later

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Attachment Theory In Hope Meadows Synopsis

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Attachment theory states that either secure or insecure bonds may form between infant and mother in the first several months of the infant’s life for the purposes of safety and security. The bond formed between infant and mother influences the quality of the relationships a child has throughout his or her life. One major reasoning of the attachment theory is that the parents are a sanctuary of safety throughout all of early childhood. Insecure attachments promote feelings of threat, rejection, and personal unworthiness. This can also be the explanation for the dream children stashing food away because of the possible threat that there,” will come a time when they will not be fed” (Smith 99).Unhealthy attachments not only lead to poor caregiver-child relationships, but can also cause a dysfunctional self-development, defective relationships, substance abuse problems, and educational difficulties.

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The secure babies used their mothers as a base to explore and as a protective safe haven. They were upset when the caregivers left but when they returned, they brought safety to the baby. Babies who had an avoidant attachment, didn’t want their caregiver upon return to the room. The caregivers for these babies may have been unresponsive to their signals of distress. Some babies were also classified as having resistant attachments, and tried kicking or arching their backs when comforted by the caregiver.

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His idea of the theory was that when infants became attached to adults whom are responsive and sensitive during the social interactions and form a maintained caregiving relationship during the 6 months to 3 years of life (McLeod). Without the development of attachment, children could suffer from serious impairments both psychological and social. This process establishes various forms of attachment, which in the future will guide the thoughts, feelings, and expectations in children as adults in their future relationships. In this paper, there will be explanations, examples, and other psychologist discussing their attachment theories. There are four different style of attachment in adults; Secure, Dismissive, Preoccupied, and Fearful-Avoidant.

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The Consequences Of Secure Attachment

223 Words | 1 Pages

Secured attachment is extremely important in the developmental stages of an infant. Secure attachment is when an infant feels distressed when they are separated from their caregivers and feels happy when their caregiver returns. Research from this article suggests that, when an infant does not receive the comfort they need from their caregiver for secure attachments, it can have a negative impact on their behaviour later on in their childhood and throughout life. Infants who have secured attachments tend to develop stronger self-esteem as they grow older, they also tend to be more independent and successful in socialising. Those children are also less likely to experience less depression and anxiety.

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Erikson Attachment Theory

800 Words | 4 Pages

Thus, suggesting that caregiver relationships are crucial to children’s psychological and physical survival. As infants are unable to verbalize their thoughts, crying is used as a means of communication and interaction between the infant and caregiver. Caring for an Infant

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1350 Words | 6 Pages

It is unknown, however, if this is only a protective factor if the secure attachment is with the primary caregiver or if it can be with an alternative caregiver as well. The study also did not clarify if the infants had secure attachments to more than one person or if it was only with one caregiver. This could be important if the insecure attachment is with the primary caregiver who they spend the most time

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Peekaboo, Hide-And Seek Analysis

1650 Words | 7 Pages

This test observed patterns in the infants’ experiences of separation and reunion with their mother, and their reaction to a stranger, in order to evaluate the type of attachment relationship the infant shared with their mother (Ainsworth, 1978). Ainsworth found a significant consistency between the mothers’ interactive styles and the reactions of the infants. The results of this test led Ainsworth to classify the behaviours into three main categories. She identified the infants to have secure attachment, or one of two forms of insecure attachment, avoidant or ambivalent (Music,

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890 Words | 4 Pages

The babies were visited monthly and the carers were also observed and interviewed. A diary was also kept by the primary care giver (usually the mother) three measure were recorded. The first was stranger anxiety – the response to the arrival of a stranger, the second was separation anxiety – the distress levels when separated from the career and the degree of comfort upon their return and finally social referencing – the degree that the child looks at the carer to check how they should respond to something new (this is referred to as secure base). They discovered that a baby’s attachment follows in this sequence. • 0-6 weeks – Asocial –

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1388 Words | 6 Pages

As its name says it is an insecure type of attachment. In this kind of early attachment the mother is regularly inconsistent in her responses to the babies’ needs. The parents either tend to over react to their infant or fail to help the infant from engaging socially. Appropriate research from Siegel has shown that mothers experiencing depression and other psychological disorders tend to vent it out on the child thus resulting in excess trauma and suffering for the child. Resultantly, these infants develop a confusing situation towards attachment in adulthood.

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367 Words | 2 Pages

Attachment in early childhood is one of the most important ways that children develop and young children that are not given any attachment in early childhood can lead to major negative impacts that can affect them for the rest of their lives. We know that the first year of children’s lives impacts their development and learning as they grow. Caregiver’s can help infants and toddlers form attachments in various ways while they are in their care. According to Gonzalez-Mena and Eyer, “brain development research indicates that these early experiences, if repeated, actually form stable neural pathways” (2015, p. 95) and “these early connections in the brain are related to attachment experiences” (2015, p. 96).

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Essay On Attachment Theory

785 Words | 4 Pages

A human baby is born with poorly developed sight and is unable to move. As a consequence to this he is vulnerable and is completely dependent on a carer for survival (Winston, 2003). To improve the chances of survival, the baby is born with pre-programmed and automatic behaviour which are prompted by environmental factors (Bergen, 2008). Bowlby theorised that when a young child feels distressed, frightened or confused, attachment behaviour is triggered and this serves to bring the child closer to their mother* who provides the desired comfort, care and protection (Bowlby,

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Sigmund Freud's Theory Of Attachment

1810 Words | 8 Pages

When the mother returns, the infant pushes the mother away or is avoidant to the mother. Infants with avoidant attachment do not feel distressed when the mother leaves, is interactive with the stranger, and shows

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Essay On Attachment In Early Life

1137 Words | 5 Pages

Through factors such as cognitive development of the infant, attentive care and intimate interactions with a primary caregiver, the attachment relationship is created – shaping the infants- caregiver bond. By examining the interactions between an infant and their primary caregiver, we can identify secure, insecure and disorganized attachment (Ainsworth, 1978; Cassidy 1994); which can reveal a great deal about the relationship between the infant and attachment figure. Overall, the quality of attachment bonds formed in the early years can have long lasting effects on an infant’s emotional security and social competence; not only shaping their ability to form relationships, but laying the foundations for the social, emotional and mental development of the

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1156 Words | 5 Pages

In addition, my parent was going through a lot of stress, my mother passed through domestic violence, that may be the cause of myself not receiving a secure attachment. I can also relate with this attachment because I remember as kid I would be very clingy with my mom, feeling scared if she tries to leave me with a babysitter. Furthermore, I can relate with this attachment because as a child it was difficult to ask for help and support by

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Ainsworth's Attachment Theory Analysis

1374 Words | 6 Pages

Insecure attachment is “characterized by fear, anxiety, anger, or indifference.” (Berger 2014, pg.193). An infant becomes insecurely attached to his caregiver when the child has learned that there are no positive effects to emotional expressions. For example, when a caregiver allows the child to “cry it out” and is unresponsive to the child’s needs, the child will learn that his needs will not be fulfilled by others. This results in the child not being able to develop any emotional awareness and might feel emotionally detached from his caregiver.

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