Bowlby And Ainsworth Attachment

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Chapter Summary-Attachment

An affectional bond is defined as “A relatively long-enduring tie in which the partner is important as a unique individual and is interchangeable with none other. In an affectional bond, there is a desire to maintain closeness to the partner” (Ainsworth, 1989, p.711). Bowlby and Ainsworth define ‘attachment’ as a sense of security where one feels comfortable to use the other as a safe base. This concept is useful to describe the relationship between romantic partners, close friends and how a child looks up to their parents. However, does not explain the attachment a parent feels towards their child as they are highly unlikely to use an infant as a safe base.
When carrying out an observation, one would look at the attachment behaviours. These are the behaviours that a person performs, expressing their attachment and to gain physical proximity. Attachment behaviours can include smiling, crying and touching. Such behaviours are used when a person needs comfort and …show more content…

Attachments involve connecting patters of behaviour. For example, the baby cries when he/she is hungry in order to let their parents know,(think it works with out this little bit) while the parents responds by feeding the baby. This is described as synchrony (an innate ability) and many of these behaviours are innate. During the first few weeks of a baby’s life, the parents tend to show their love for their baby in the same way. Although, research has shown that as the baby gets older (around six months) the mother and father seem to show different behaviours. The father would be more playful, while the mother reacts more to the baby’s needs. Even though they use different methods to express their love and care for the baby, they usually both have just as strong bonds.Although there methods of showing affection are different they are both capable of forming a strong bond (this sentence doesn’t quite

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