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More handpicked essays just for you.
Strength and weakness of research studies of attachment
The strength of the attachment theory
Attachment style and adult relationships
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The Adult Attachment Interview is Valid In this article, IJzendoorn discusses the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985) and how it is related to it and the Strange Situation procedure (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall 1978). IJzendoorn states that the AAI is constant, without bias, and unrelated to IQ with good psychometric aspects. When considering alternative studies focused on the influence of childhood experiences on functioning later in life, the AAI demonstrates faithfulness to be out of the ordinary but also reliable. The main underlying consensus IJzendoorn wants his audience to take away from the first section in his article is the validity of the AAI and to introduce his understanding of how Fox’s (1995) speculations address doubts about the AAI’s reliability and validity. Fox (1995) poses that it is possible that early childhood attachment does not influence adults’ minds relative to attachment. He also is hesitant to agree that parental sensitivity is a valuable aspect that is potentially “transmitted” to offspring. The Critical Period Idea Is a Misconception One issue about the AAI that gets initial attention is individuals’ self-reports about childhood experiences and how much they influenced the coding system used to assess the relationship between adults’ past and present …show more content…
Throughout a person’s lifetime- infancy, childhood, and adolescence- a variety of positive and negative influences occur that may elicit change in the development of attachment. Evolutionary and psychological levels are introduced as an argument somewhat similar to the nature or nurture dilemma. In the evolutionary bias, Bowlby (1973) describes humans as being born with an “innate bias,” in the way they become attached. The second level, the psychological level, attachments are described as being more environmentally labile during their life
Both Erik Erikson’s (1963) theory and Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby (1973) theory support the idea that early life experiences impact the person across their lifespan. Both theories believe that personality begins to develop from a young age and therefore occurrences in early life can have lasting impacts on the developmental of an individual. An individual’s social and psychological development is significantly influenced by early life and childhood experiences. The experiences an individual has as a child impacts on the development of social skills, social behaviours, morals and values of an individual.
An infant’s initial contact with the world and their exploration of life is directly through the parent/ primary caregiver. As the child grows, learns, and develops, a certain attachment relationship forms between them and the principle adult present in this process. Moreover, this attachment holds huge implications concerning the child’s future relationships and social successes. Children trust that their parental figure will be there; as a result, children whom form proper attachments internalize an image of their world as stable, safe, and secure. These children will grow independent while at the same time maintaining a connection with their caregivers. (Day, 2006). However, when a child f...
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
According to Kagan et al. (1978) attachment is defined as “An intense emotional relationship that is specific to two people, that endures over time, and in which prolonged separation from the partner is accompanied by stress and sorrow” the definition shows attachment is important in life, and is said that our first attachment is very crucial to our development towards other relationships, e.g. with other family members, friends, and romantic relationships. Bowlby (1973) presented that newly born humans are vulnerable and they are genetically programmed to behave in certain ways to ensure survival, and also states mothers inherit a ‘genetic blueprint’ to respond to the baby at all times. The child’s attachment to their mothers will determine how close they are, and how the child acts around strangers, usually giving off any social responses in reaction to being scared, ill or in unfamiliar...
Attachment has also proven useful in understanding the emotional experience of older adults (Magai, Consedine, Gillespie, O’Neal, & Vilker, 2004). For example, Magai & Passman (1997) discovered a strong relationship between secure attachments and emotional well-being of middle aged adults, which extends to individuals later in life. Understanding the role of attachment and its psychosocial impact during later life is an important area that needs further
Admittedly, many psychologists define attachment as an enduring, affectionate bond that one person forms between himself and another person throughout life. Mary Ainsworth provided the most famous research: strange situation, offering explanations of individual differences in attachment. However, in this Adult Attachment Style questionnaire that I took, I found many factors relevant to attachment as defined in the textbook. For example, in the textbook, it defines attachment based on Ainsworth research, the strange situation by observing attachment forms between mother and infants. They are described in four attachment styles: securely attached, insecure avoidant, insecure resistant, and insecure disorganized.
In conclusion, mother-infant attachment paves the way for adult social relationships as supported by Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation experiment and its follow-up, Bowlby’s 44 Thieves study, and Henry Harlow’s classic experiment with the monkeys. Furthermore, strong secure attachments breed healthy social relationships, while insecure attachments lead to difficult social and emotional issues. The best way to prevent insecure attachments is by creating that strong mother-infant bond in the first year of life. It is crucial for potential parents to be prepared emotionally, economically, and socially for a new infant. As the acorn has the potential to become an oak with the right conditions and environment, an infant also has the potential to become a successful adult with a supportive, healthy, environment.
Attachment is described as the close emotional bond between two people and Attachment Theory (AT) generally concentrates on the early bonds in a person’s development as well as the effects that these bonds have on later socio-emotional development. While emphasis on attachment as an antecedent for future behavior and personality has decreased somewhat in recent years, it is interesting to note that the DSM IV-TR includes a “reactive attachment disorder” which it states is caused when extreme circumstances prevent proper attachment development.
Children and adults with this attachment style often have high levels of self-reliance to avoid rejection, and lack visual emotion (Davies, 2011; Hepper & Carnelley, 2012). Children form this attachment style after experiencing constant rejection and anger from parents, and have no sense of security or safe-haven. In adulthood, avoidant attachment to partners or family correlates with negativity towards trust, respect and empathy (Hepper & Carnelley, 2012), and little desire for comfort or physical contact. Insecure ambivalent attachment is the next insecure style and consists of a need for attachment but lack of confidence in its availability from an attachment figure (Anderson & Alexander, 2005; Davies, 2011). Ambivalent attached children are often anxious and are fearful of exploration and social situations, and overly nervous of separation. In adulthood, this ambivalent attachment moulds into attachment anxiety, where one is constantly seeking reassurance and overreacts to negative feedback (Hepper & Carnelley, 2012). This causes issues in romantic relationships because one partner is unable to deal with feedback and prompts frustration and conflict in the other partner. Johnny, however, has an insecure disorganised attachment style, the third insecure style. This style correlates with anxious and untrusting behaviour and disoriented thoughts (Anderson & Alexander, 2005; Davies, 2011; Gowen & Nebrig, 2001). Johnny
Attachment is the emotional bond between humans, which is based on our relationship with a parent or early caregiver during the years of childhood. There are four different attachment styles – secure, preoccupied, dismissive, and fearful – each describing a different way in which individuals interact with others, approach social and romantic relationships, and deal with life.
Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)
Attachment is an emotional bond that is from one person to another. The attachment theory is a psychological, an evolutionary and an ethological theory that is concerned with relationships between humans, specifically between mother and infant. A young infant has to develop a relationship with at least one of their primary caregivers for them to develop socially and emotionally. Social competence is the condition that possesses the social, emotional and intellectual skills and behaviours, the infant needs these to success as a member of society. Many studies have been focused on the Western society, but there are many arguments to whether or not this can be applicable to other cultures, such as the poorer countries.
Psychologist, Mary Ainsworth expanded upon Bowlby's original work. She conducted a study labelled the ‘Strange Situation’. In the study, based upon the children’s reactions, Ainsworth described three major styles of attachment: secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Work by Stroufe and Waters in 1977, further supported Ainsworth's attachment styles and have indicated that attachment styles also have an impact on behaviours later in life (Birns, 1999, p. 13). Researchers have found strengths in attachment patterns established early in life can lead to a number of outcomes. For example, children who are securely attached as infants tend to develop stronger self-esteem and better self-reliance as they grow older. These children also tend to be more independent, perform better in school, have successful social relationships, and experience less depression and anxiety (Birns, 1999, p. 13).
The Adult Attachment Interview Protocol provided me the opportunity to sit here and interview myself on my own childhood experiences. I’m always interviewing or assessing others but never myself. This assessment allowed me the opportunity to see how different experiences throughout my childhood has affected me as an individual and as an adult.
The Child Attachment Interview: A Psychometric Study of Reliability and Discriminate Validity.(Shmueli-Goetz, Target, Fonagy, & Datta, 2008, p. 939). Yael Shmueli-Goetz, Mary Target, Peter Fonagy, and Adrian Datta. University College of London. The purpose of the study is to measure the psychometric properties of the Child Attachment Interview (CAI). This attachment tool is designed for children. The CAI is a recent semi-structured interview measurement designed to access attachment levels in adolescence and middle childhood. The aim of the authors to summarize the empirical psychometric properties in both clinical and non-clinical findings in the child attachment interview (CAI). The instrument was reliable in measuring the impact of parent-child