Role of Attachment on Personality Development Next, we will discuss the role of attachment on personality development. One of the expectations in parenting children is that they are emotionally healthy. Bowlby has identified that good-enough mothering is the avenue to meeting that expectation. Not only does the parent want to accomplish this for their child while their young but they want their child to be emotionally healthy as adolescents and adulthood. Through the interaction of the parent the child learns how others are supposed to treat him and how he is to treat others. Humans have an innate desire to have an emotional connection to others. This desire humans have to connect has been observed while the child is still in his …show more content…
These persons are sought for protection, comfort and support. In adolescents and adulthood these bonds continue but are directed less toward parents and more towards others. Bowlby states that in the beginning the bond between the mother and child is maintained through “emotionally mediated communication” (Bowlby, 1988). This type of communication and intimate relationship continues throughout life. A person’s ability to want to seek out others and act in either the care-seeking role or the care-giving role is an example of effective personality functioning and mental health. The child learned these behaviors from the parenting they received in childhood which afforded them to be able to offer these attributes to others. The capacity for one to either be a caregiver or to be care-seeking is a direct reflection of attachment behavior experienced during childhood. How close one is willing to get to another person …show more content…
There are three types of attachment: secure attachment; anxious resistant attachment and anxious avoidant attachment.
Bowlby describes these attachment styles as:
“These are first the pattern of secure attachment in which the individual is confident that his parent (or parent figure) will be available, responsive, and helpful should he encounter adverse or frightening situations. With this assurance, he feels bold in his explorations of the world. This pattern is promoted by a parent, in the early years especially by mother being readily available, sensitive to her child’s signals, and lovingly responsive when he seeks protection and/or comfort.
A second pattern is that of anxious resistant attachment in which the individual is uncertain whether his parent will be available or responsive or helpful when called upon. Because of this uncertainty he is always prone to separation anxiety, tends to be clinging, and is anxious about exploring the world. This pattern, in which conflict is evident, is promoted by a parent being available and helpful on some occasions but not on others, and by separations and as clinical findings show, by threats of abandonment used as a means of
The results of the study claimed that the attachments developed over time and goes through four stages. From birth to six weeks it’s the Pre-attachment or Indiscriminate phase, the infants respond to all stimuli in the same ways and so does not have certain attachments or preferences about who they were with, towards the end of the stage the child begins to show a preference for social stimuli (e.g. smiling). Between six weeks to six months it’s the Discriminating phase, they become extremely sociable with anybody, cl...
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
Relationships are the building block for personality and are significant in children’s ability to grow into substantial individuals who can thrive in an often harsh world. Constructing lasting and fulfilling relationships is an integral part to development as the interpersonal bonds forged are not only highly sought after but also set the ground work for all upcoming expressive interactions. Relationships and attachment go hand in hand as attachment is the strong and lasting linkage established between a child and his or her caregiver. Moreover, attachment significantly influences a large capacity of ones make up as it these first relationships that teaches morals, builds self-esteem, and develops a support system. The pioneers of Attachment Theory realized early on that human beings are not solely influenced by drives but that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers greatly impact their ability to forge lasting relationships later in life. John Bowlby was first to introduce this theory to the masses in the 1950’s, and later Mary Ainsworth conducted further research to expand on Bowlby’s theory which proclaims that attachment is a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). The attachment bond theory by both Bowlby and Ainsworth focuses on the significance of the relationship between babies and their caretakers which research has suggested is accountable for influencing impending interactions, firming or injuring our capabilities to concentrate, being aware of our emotional states, self-soothing capabilities, and the capacity to be resilient in the face of hardship. Additionally, this research has provided a framework for assisting in describing these att...
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.
John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure, insecure/resistant, insecure/avoidant and disorganized/disoriented, later leading to research studies done to observe this behavior and how it affects a child in their adolescence and adulthood.
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.
The attachment theory, presented by Mary Ainsworth in 1969 and emerged by John Bowlby suggests that the human infant has a need for a relationship with an adult caregiver, and without a subsequent, development can be negatively impacted (Hammonds 2012). Ainsworth proposes that the type of relationship and “attachment” an infant has with the caregiver, can impact the social development of the infant. As stated by Hammonds (2012), attachment between a mother and a child can have a great impact on the child 's future mental
For example, when the child first arrived he made no contact with those that were in the area. The only eye contact that he made was with his grandmother. The secure attachment theory supports that children are least likely to make contact with strangers when caregivers are around. One example of no contact is, the child not making eye contact with those who were among his presence while he stayed extremely close to his grandmother. Children that are securely attached seem to become somewhat defensive when they are in different environments. They tend to push away from strangers to stay within the presence of their caregivers. They become very anxious of when they feel as if the caregiver could possibly be away from their presence. An example of “anxiousness” is when the observed child got comfortable to venture off, he hesitated leaving his grandmother; it took him a while to get comfortable with the strange surroundings and people. After the child was comfortable, he relaxed and became less anxious. When the observed child started to become comfortable within his surroundings, he slowly but cautiously shied away while turning around and hesitating before he ventured away too far. After the child ventured off, he became even more aware of his surroundings. The child had a pattern of looking for his grandmother to make sure that she was still
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)
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).
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...
No matter what, people form thousands of relationships to get through the ups and downs in life. To be frank, life would be pretty dull and empty without relationships. One of the most important relationships is the one that people form with their parents (Perry). Early family relationships are the foundation for adult relationships and a child’s personality (Perry; Greenberg). Alicia Lieberman, a psychology professor, said “The foundation for how a child feels about himself and the world is how he feels in his relationship with the primary caregiver” (Greenberg). According to Erik Erikson and the attachment theory, the bond between a caregiver and child has a huge impact on a child’s development because of social and emotional effects.
This pattern is also referred to as ambivalent attachment pattern. This pattern of attachment can be observed by the use of two parameters. One of the parameters is the child exploring ability and will. In this attachment pattern, the child does not explore much even when the caregiver is around the child. The other parameter is the behaviour of the child towards strangers. The child extremely gets worried in the presence of strangers and becomes highly distressed compared to a child with secure attachment. Resistant attachment in a child develops because of lack predictable response by the caregiver and is always seen as a strategic pattern for a child to maintain the availability of the caregiver through the display of helplessness and anger by a child. When a child displays anxious attachment patterns, it is an indication that the child has experienced an abusive childhood experience from the caregiver. Research has indicated that children who have anxious-resistance attachment always find it difficult to develop and maintain intimate relationships in their adult lives (Newton,
“Attachment is as essential for the child’s psychological well-being as food is for physical health,” claimed Bowlby, B (2001, p.54). Bowlby claimed in this statement that attachment is a necessary thing that a child needs in order to develop healthily. There is evidence from other theorists who support Bowlby’s theory of attachment, such as Harlow, whose approach is based upon a caregiver’s sensitivity and attachment. Ainsworth is another theorist whose research supports Bowlby’s theory of attachment. In her strange situation study, she tested for the attachment types and what effects they had on a child’s behaviour.
During the first few stages of both theories, we see challenges in the development of the child and we also see challenges that a child might face during some, if not all forms of attachment theory. For example, a parent ignoring the child and speaking to them in a negative manner during insecure-avoidant attachment can be challenging for a child and lead to insecurities and the feeling of not being loved and/or wanted. Additionally, the theme of independence is seen throughout both theories and can also be related specifically to insecure-avoidant attachment where the child does not focus his or her attention on the parents but instead looks to the outside world for assistance. Both theories, as well as attachment theory, has an impact on childhood