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Rudolph Schaffer's Four Phases Of Attachment

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Introduction: Psychology is a social and behavioral science that allows the exploration of human behavior. It allows researchers to explore many areas of interest including developmental processes, thoughts, feelings and other social behaviors. Psychology is a science that seeks to identify and understand the many facets of human behavior. It provides scientific principles to explore the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral characteristics of individuals. Much of what we know about ourselves as human beings has emerged from research that has been established through proven theories. Over several decades, theorists have performed numerous experiments and research to establish psychological theories. A psychological theory focuses on creating an understanding of human behavior. A general psychology specialization creates a pathway for learners to grasp a variety of concepts, through theory, that can be applied …show more content…

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) conducted a study in which they explored attachment using 60 infants. Based on research findings, Schaffer and Emerson (1964) established four distinct phases of attachment including: pre-attachment, indiscriminate, discriminate, and multiple attachment. Each stage is characterized by age and how that individual develops attachment to their particular caregiver. There has been a great amount of research to support the importance of healthy attachment. Some research that has been found indicates the earlier an individual can form an attachment to someone, the more beneficial it could be to their long-term development and the relationships that they form with others. O’Gorman (2012) states that “attachment theory provides a theoretical framework that offers the systemic therapist a detailed description of the infancy period plus increased insight into the qualities of caregiver-child

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Bowlby was able to identify specific phases of attachment, and Ainsworth was able to name the outcomes of the different types of attachment. Separation from caregiver to infant causes distress in the baby; however, if the baby’s cries for their needs to be met are responded too, it creates a trust and a sense of security in the child that helps development. These ideas of attachment relate to Ericson’s Theory Attachment Theory in that they are the foundation. Erickson’s attachment theory begins in infancy and continues through the entire lifespan of a person.

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In 1969, John Bowlby made the connection that formed relationships and attachments to caregivers contributes to future development and growth. The attachment theory focuses on relationship association between caregivers and their children. Children who established a foundation with a caregiver despite their biological relation, gain much needed support. Establishing support, encourages a child’s development. The comfort of safety, allows children to feel secure in taking risks (Groman, 2012).

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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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One of the main theories in Developmental psychology is the attachment theory that was devised by Bowlby (1969) and was added to in 1973, by Mary Ainsworth. The attachment theory surrounds the bond between a primary care giver and a baby. They believe that attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space. In 1930 Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in a children’s unit, where he treated many emotionally disturbed children, this lead him to consider the relationship between mother and child and the impact that could have on the child’s development. Bowlby believed that the attachment process was an all or nothing process and that you either were attached or were not attached.

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Attachment Theory states that a strong emotional and physical attachment to at least one primary caregiver is critical to personal development (Dun, Craig p.136). Having a strong attachment to the primary caregiver provides a sense of security and a solid foundation for the child. This theory is the stepping stone to Erick Erickson’s second stage of psychosocial development. During this phase, autonomy vs shame and doubt, a child will have the natural tendency to branch out from the primary caregiver. Children, if permitted to, will develop their own desires, abilities and self-esteem, ideas and thoughts through autonomy.

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The first concept i chose to review was child attachment, the emotional bond between a child and the parent. There is many different type of attachment such as insecure or secure attachment. The thing with attachment is that it may seem like a bad thing for a child to be attached to the parent but a lot of parents over look it. It is normal for children to build that strong with the parent and feel safe and secure around them. Sometimes attachment can go over board and that is when the child cannot be anywhere without its parent present.

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This period of time encouraged Bowlby to evaluate the importance of the child's relationship with the mother. It helped form his belief about the connection between early infant separations with mothers and later issues with the child's social, emotional and cognitive skills and ultimately led Bowlby to construct his attachment theory (Bowlby, 2005). Bowlby observed that children experienced sharp anguish when separated from their mothers. Being fed from other caregivers did not lessen the child's distress. These findings flew in the face of the behavioural theory of attachment which claimed that the child/mother attachment was due to the mother feeding the infant.

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The process of attachment starts very early in life. It is an intense emotional connection between the infant and their caregiver who, most of the time, is the mother. It is a bond that ties them together and helps the baby experience pleasure, joy, safety, and comfort. The Attachment theory shows that a primary caregiver is necessary for the growth of the infant. The primary caregiver influences the infant and helps their development, such as being able to figure out how to deal with certain situations, develop relationships, and being able to understand themselves.

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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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Often times, attachment style in childhood can have an impact on how we interact and view other people. Attachment theory stems from the relationship that one as an infant has with their caregiver. During this stage the infant develops an emotional bond with caregiver, and this bond provides comfort and security. When this connection between them is damaged, the child develops insecure attachment. The reason for this is because when the caregiver is responsive to the needs of the infant then the infant will end up developing a secure attachment.

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In fact, an objective, comprehensive, accumulative, empirical, and theoretical science of psychology is merely an illusion (Smedslund, 2015). The classic scientific method, referring to a process utilized to evaluate observations and to answer questions, contains four steps: observation and explanation of phenomena/phenomenon; formulating a hypothesis; employment of the hypothesis to predict other phenomenon or to predict new observations results, and execution of experimental tests of the predictions. Psychology does, indeed, embrace some features of the scientific method (Gantt, & Slife, 2015); however, its methodology is far too open ended and definitely non-scientific. Berezow (2012) declared Psychology possessed vague terminology and dubious quantifiability. Psychologists defend themselves by suggesting that human beings are complicated and not all that easy to measure.

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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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The experiment was done in a room with a one way glass to observe the infant. Different situations were given to the infant to determine the infant’s attachment style, the mother of the infant would leave the room and the infant would be left with the experimenter or the experimenter would leave the room and leave the mother and infant alone. How the infant reacts to the situation is used to determine the attachment style of the infant. Infants with secure attachment style would be distressed every time the mother would leave, the infant avoids the stranger when the mother leaves and when the mother returns the infant becomes happier. Infants with ambivalent attachment attachment style get distressed whenever the mother leaves, and avoids the stranger when left alone.

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814 Words | 4 Pages

When it comes to the science of psychology psychologist are looking deeper into what affects ones behavior and mental health. Looking at the environment, health issues, cognitive, learning, and etc… How does everything affect the overall mental health of a person? 2. Distinguish between a theory, a hypothesis, and an operational definition.

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Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional

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