Theories of Attachment

infant and its caregiver and its development is one that has generated much interest to developmental psychologists. Developing attachments is vital to form relationships beyond the immediate family throughout life. One psychologist Bowlby did a lot of work into attachments; his work represents the most comprehensive theory of human attachment formation. Bowlby (1969, 1973) argues that because new-born human infants are entirely helpless, they are genetically programmed to behave towards their mothers in ways that ensure their survival. In Bowlby's view, there is an emotional regulation between the infant and the mother or caregiver. The infant has innate signals to responses from the caregiver. Infant behaviour such as crying, cooing, smiling etc is induced by the caregiver’s specific actions e.g. leaving the room or putting the infant down. Santrock and Bartlett (1986) found that 'the infant's behaviour is directed by the primary goal of maintaining the mother's closeness. The baby processes information about the mother's location and changes his behaviour based on this fact. Therefore, Instinct or a fixed pattern is the primary force for developmental change, but is transformed through social experience. Freud’s theory approves of this as he believed that healthy attachments are formed when feeding practises satisfy the infant’s needs for food, security and oral sexual gratification. However Schaffer’s theory of attachment doesn’t coincide with Bowlby and Freud’s theories as Schaffer’s (1971) ‘cupboard love’ theories of attachment put things the wrong way around. Instead of infants being passive recipients of nutrition (they ‘live to eat’), he prefers to see them as active seekers of stimulation (they ‘eat to live).Psychologists such as Schaffer did a considerable amount of research into the phases in the development of attachments. According to Schaffer (1996a) the attachment process can be divided into several phase or stages: Phase 1 (The pre-attachment stage) :- Birth - 2/3 months The infant directs his attachment to human figures as instinct; all are equally likely to evoke smiling or crying because the infant is not discriminating. Phase 2 (The indiscriminate attachment stage) :- 3-6 months the infant's attachment focuses on one figure, typically the primary caregiver, for example the mother.  Phase 3 (The discriminate stage) :- 6-9 months The intensity of attachment to the mother or caregiver increases. Due to this and newly acquired motor skills, the infant now readily seeks the closeness to the caregiver. Phase 4 (The multiple attachment stage) :- 9-12 months The stages of attachment in the previous stages become integrated into a mutual system of attachment to which both infant and mother contribute.Different patterns of attachment have complex causes. They are thought to develop as a response to different styles of mothering. However, the classification may vary from culture to culture and the same baby may show different patterns depending on whether parents or siblings accompany the baby in the tests. The practical importance of attachment research can be seen in the areas of hospitalisation, and re homing orphaned or foster children. The knowledge gained from these tests should help policy maker’s deal with these issues with sensitivity. Hospitalisation of infants in particular has benefited from this research in that caregivers are now allowed to stay in hospital with their babies or young children. The area of day care facilities have also been benefited by this research, as it suggests that a brief separation does not disrupt the healthy attachment bond as it was previously thought to do. However, if there is already stress in the home environment, the separation and insecure attachment may have adverse consequences. Longer term consequences of disrupted attachment are more difficult to establish; but is thought to be reversible, as children brought up in orphanages become securely attached to their adoptive parents even as late as 8 years old ( Tizard and Hodges 1978 cited in Butterworth & Harris 1994).   In conclusion, Bowlby's ideas and research provided a comprehensive basis for present day approaches to attachment. Research implies that there are, therefore three main characteristics of attachment behaviours: Firstly, the infant seeks the closeness and proximity of the caregiver. Secondly, that the infant shows distress at separation from the attachment figure and then relief upon reunion, i.e., displays a clear preference even without physical contact by eye contact or attentiveness to the sound of the caregiver’s voice. Thirdly, that the infant uses the attachment figure as a secure base from which to explore its physical and social environment (Brodzinsky, Gormly and Ambron 1979). The importance of attachment in the development of an infant cannot be underestimated, as it is from this bond that the infant finds comfort security and a base from which to explore his/her environment safely. Attachment behaviours can be seen as the manifestation of this need that the infant has, as research suggests that a break from a meaningful, emotionally charged lasting relationship will produce highly distressing consequences.