Attachment Theory

## Overview

Attachment itself can be defined as a deep and enduring bond between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure due to the presence of the other. Attachment theory was formed largely from the work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Bowlby is credited with having hypothesized the foundational tenets of the theory while researching maternal loss and deprivation. Ainsworth was then pivotal to the growth of attachment theory through the development of novel methodology, providing an empirical basis for Bowlby's work as well as a platform for new ideas and directions.

Perhaps the most central theme of attachment theory is the notion of caregiver responsiveness. This refers to a caregiver's ability to respond to the needs of an infant as a determinant of the child developing a sense of security. When an infant knows its caregivers to be dependable, a secure base from which the child can explore the world is formed.  Maternal sensitivity has showed up in several ethnographic studies. Mothers in hunter-gather societies showed high sensitivity to their children when being observed.

Research has showed that attachment theory is universal. When looking at Africa, Asia, and Latin America, children continue to show preferential bond with one or more caregivers under stressful situations. Avoidant, secure, and resistant attachments have been identified as different attachment styles across different cultures.  However, there culture-specific difference when it comes to attachment.  Children express attachment and exploration behaviors differently depending on the cultural norms and customs. For example, the children of Hausa community in Nigeria use any adult caregiver as secure base to explore their environment due to the limited locomotion as direct result of dangerous outside environment. The children will stop exploring the outside environment as soon as the adult caregiver leave the room. This is opposite to what happen in the Western cultures.

### John Bowlby

Edward John Bowlby was born in London on February 26, 1907. Bowlby's experiences as a child strongly informed his research interests later in life. As one of six children in an upper-class family, he was raised primarily by a nanny; Bowlby was four when she departed and experienced substantial grief. Later on, at age 7, Bowlby was sent to boarding school, which he recalls as a detrimental experience.

#### Maternal Deprivation

Bowlby's interest in maternal deprivation began when working as a child psychiatrist during World War 1. He began to note commonalities about maternal separation amongst populations of delinquent children. This interest persisted after the war when there became a prominent focus on addressing the needs of orphan children. As a result, Bowlby was funded by the World Health Organization to perform research on this topic. He found strong validation for his thoughts regarding the behavioral effects of childhood attachment and was pleased to find this notion prevalent amongst practitioners in the field of child psychology. His work was, however, met with strong criticism from psychanalytic-oriented colleagues as Freud's work had long since abandoned the notion of childhood trauma as a precursor to mental illness.

At the time Bowlby began researching the effects of maternal separation on children, the prevailing view regarding infant attachment was that they bonded their mothers simply due to being fed. Bowlby found this theory to be incomplete and relatively disparate from lived experience. He found object-relations paradigms similarly unfulfilling in their overbearing focus on orality regarding breastfeeding as the primary manifestation of dependence. This disparity led Bowlby to formulate a separate motivational system outside the most traditional paradigms of food and sex.

Bowlby came to frame attachment through the lens of a maternal relationships' effect on child behavior. The intuitive notion that a strong maternal attachment would lead a child to feel secure in exploring their world was relatively groundbreaking at the time. Bowlby found the notion of attachment as its own independent drive to be extremely compelling as it cast behavior in a brand new theoretical light; thus potentially allowing greater clinical insight into symptomology throughout childhood and even into adulthood.

More salient and controversial still was Bowlby's argument that delinquent or anti-social behavior was the result of poor attachment. In his WHO report, Bowlby argued that lack of opportunity to form an attachment to a mother figure, separation from a mother figure for at least three months, or frequent changing of mother figures over at least 3 months often led to deleterious effects on a child's emotional wellbeing with implications towards behavior long into the future. Bowlby also presented concerns regarding the current state of clinical intervention as these children appeared resistant to traditional methodologies.

### Mary Ainsworth

Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio but raised in Canada. She ultimately pursued her bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto, after which she joined the Canadian Women's Army Corps. Ainsworth achieved the rank of major after which she returned to Toronto to teach. Shortly afterward she was married in 1950 and departed to London, where she ultimately was invited to work with John Bowlby at the Tavistock Clinic. Here, Ainsworth was exposed to Bowlby's work on the effects of interference with the maternal bond and its emotional and behavioral implications. Afterward, Ainsworth conducted her own research on attachment concerning the mother-child bond in Kampala Uganda. She then taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1959-1975, before moving to the University of Virginia where she taught until retiring in 1984.

#### The Strange Situation

The Strange Situation is a novel methodology developed by Mary Ainsworth in order to assess attachment in young children. The procedure has remained virtually unchanged since its inception and involves a single session consisting of 8 episodes. In the first three sessions, a child is exposed to an unfamiliar environment as well as a stranger, while in the company of their primary caregiver. In this situation, the environment is a playroom, and the stranger is an unknown research assistant. In episode four the caregiver is prompted to exit the room leaving the child alone with a perceived stranger. In episode five the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves the room. Then in episode six, the caregiver leaves the child alone in the room. In episode seven the stranger returns to the room with the child, followed by the caregiver returning in episode eight. Throughout the session, the caregiver is instructed not to initiate interaction and to only respond to the child. The Strange Situation allows clinicians and researchers to observe child behavior under the stress of being in an unknown environment, being in the presence of a stranger, and being separated from their caregiver.

In assessing attachment clinicians observe children's reactions to each stage of the Strange Situation and score behavior within five different domains. These include proximity and contact-seeking behaviors, contact-maintaining behaviors, proximity and interaction-avoiding behaviors, and contact and interaction-resisting behaviors. The behavior of the child is assessed in relation to the caregiver in episodes two, three, five, and eight and in relation to the stranger in episodes three, four, and seven. Another behavioral domain referred to as search behavior is assessed in episodes four, six, and seven.

### Attachment Styles

John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth were responsible for the first classification system in regard to attachment patterns. In 1967 they initially categorized attachment patterns into seven groups. This was, however, still primarily in relation to how children organized their object relations. This included conforming, over-dependent, withdrawn, ambivalent, mother-rejecting, affectionless, and superficial. In their study, Bowlby and Ainsworth then compared this classification with an adjustment rating of each child. Interestingly, they came away with three groups of children; one showing positive feelings toward their mother, another showing ambivalence, and another showing hostility or essentially a precursor to the later classification developed by Ainsworth in implementing the Strange situation.

After conducting the Strange Situation procedure Ainsworth and her colleagues sorted child attachment behavior into three major groups:

1. Avoidant Attachment - These children avoid interaction with the caregiver and show little distress when separated.
2. Secure Attachment - These children display high levels of trust in their caregiver and exhibit an adaptive response when separated
3. Ambivalent Attachment - These children exhibited a mixture of avoidant and secure behaviors. They tended to resist interaction with the caregiver but once contact was established made efforts to prolong it.

Mary Main and Judith Solomon later added a fourth attachment style titled Disorganized Attachment after repeatedly noticing unclassifiable observations when conducting the Strange Situation. Behavior attributed to this group included overt fear responses to the caregiver, contradictory behaviors or effects occurring simultaneously or sequentially, as well as a number of other confounding physical movements.

**Harry Harlow:**

Harry Harlow was born in Fairfield, Iowa on October 31, 1905. He was an American psychologist best known for his research and contributions to the nature of love and human affection. His interests included maternal separation, dependency needs, and social isolation, all in the context of companionship. Harlow's classic series of experiments with monkeys were conducted between 1957 and 1963.

**Monkey Love Experiments:**

Harry Harlow’s experiments revealed the importance of maternal contact. Harlow took newborn rhesus monkeys away from their biological mothers and replaced them with one of two inanimate mothers: one made of hard wires and wood, the other made of soft cotton. The monkeys were observed spending more time clinging to the cloth mother, even when the wire mother had food; the monkeys would go to the wire mother to feed and then quickly return to the cloth mother. Harlow’s study showed the importance of comfort and touch in parent-child attachment in infant development.

### Further Reading

1. Solomon, J., & George, C. (2011). *Disorganized Attachment and Caregiving*. Guilford Press.
2. Ainsworth, M., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). *Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation*. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
3. Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. *Journal of personality and social psychology*, *61*(2), 226-244.
4. Ainsworth, M. S., & Bowlby, J. (1991). An ethological approach to personality development. *American Psychologist, 46*(4), 333–341. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.46.4.333
5. Harlow, H. F. (1958). The nature of love. *American psychologist*, *13*(12), 673. https://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Harlow-1958.pdf
6. Van der Horst, F. C., LeRoy, H. A., & Van der Veer, R. (2008). “When strangers meet”: John Bowlby and Harry Harlow on attachment behavior. *Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science*, *42*(4), 370-388. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12124-008-9079-2
7. Van der Horst, F. C., & Van der Veer, R. (2008). Loneliness in infancy: Harry Harlow, John Bowlby and issues of separation. *Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science*, *42*(4), 325-335. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12124-008-9071-x

### References

1. ↑ McLeod, S. A. (2017, Febuary 05). *Attachment theory*. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/attachment.html
2. ↑ Bretherton, I. (1992). The origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Developmental Psychology, 28(5), 759–775. https://doi-org.williamjames.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/0012-1649.28.5.759
3. ↑ Cherry, K. (2019, July 17). How attachment theory works. Verywell Mind. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-attachment-theory-2795337.
4. ↑ Team, G. E. (2011, November 11). John Bowlby (1907-1990). Retrieved from https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/john-bowlby.html
5. ↑ Bowlby, J. (1986). "Maternal Care and Mental Health" (PDF). *Bulletin of the World Health Organization*. Citation Classic. **3** (3): 355–533.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. *American Journal of Orthopsychiatry*, *52*(4), 664–678. https://doi-org.williamjames.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x
7. ↑ Bowlby, John & World Health Organization. (‎1952)‎. Maternal care and mental health : a report prepared on behalf of the World Health Organization as a contribution to the United Nations programme for the welfare of homeless children / John Bowlby, 2nd ed. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/40724
8. ↑ Ravo, N. (n.d.). Mary Ainsworth, 85, theorist on mother-infant attachment ... NYTimes.com. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/07/us/mary-ainsworth-85-theorist-on-mother-infant-attachment.html.
9. ↑ GoodTherapy Editor Team. (2018, February 3). *Mary Ainsworth (1913–1999)*. GoodTherapy.Org. https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/mary-ainsworth.html
10. ↑ Rosmalen, L., Veer, R., & Horst, F. (2015). Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure: The Origin of an Instrument. *Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences*, *51*(3), 261–284. https://doi-org.williamjames.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/jhbs.21729
11. ↑ Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970). *Child Development*, *41*(1), 49–67. https://doi-org.williamjames.idm.oclc.org/10.2307/1127388
12. ↑ van Rosmalen, L., van der Horst, F. C. P., & van der Veer, R. (2016). From secure dependency to attachment: Mary Ainsworth’s integration of Blatz’s security theory into Bowlby’s attachment theory. *History of Psychology*, *19*(1), 22–39. https://doi-org.williamjames.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/hop0000015
13. ↑ Huang, S. (2020, August 4). *Attachment Styles | Simply Psychology*. Simplypsychology.Org. https://www.simplypsychology.org/attachment-styles.html
14. ↑ Duschinsky, R. (2015). The emergence of the disorganized/disoriented (D) attachment classification, 1979–1982. *History of Psychology*, *18*(1), 32–46. https://doi-org.williamjames.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/a0038524
15. ↑ https://www.verywellmind.com/harry-harlow-biography-1905-1981-2795510
16. ↑ https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/harlows-classic-studies-revealed-the-importance-of-maternal-contact.html
17. ↑ Harlow H. F., Dodsworth R. O., & Harlow M. K. (1965). Total social isolation in monkeys. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.* Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC285801/pdf/pnas00159-0105.pdf