Mary Ainsworth's Attachment Theory In Possessing The Secret Of Joy

878 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparing and contrasting the attachment theories of Bowlby and Ainsworth

Attachment Theory The attachment theory helps to examine who we form relationships with, why these relationships work or fail, and how the relationships help to develop us in adolescence and on to adulthood. Mary Ainsworth stated a child/infant needed a secure base from where they could explore the world (Bretheron, 1992). Ainsworth stated a secure base is an emotional rich environment (1963). She also formulated the ideal of maternal instincts allow the mother to meet the infants need and with that ability, the infant-mother attachment is solidified. Ainsworth methodology made it possible to test and empirically prove attachment theory (Bretheron, 1992). The attachment theory highlights the importance of a secure base, infants and young By linking Ainsworth’s attachment theory to Tashi-the protagonist in Possessing the Secret of Joy, one can summate how the relationship with our primary care taker can have a lifelong effect on determining the direction of life. The three most influential bonds throughout the life of Tashi were with Adam, Dura, and M’Lissa, yet her mother’s stoicism impacted Tashi the primary care giver) to a spouse, with carry-over from the mother infant relationship. Marriage normally increases self-esteem and secure a positive outlook in regards to relationship attachments. Even though Tashi and Adam had a very ardent sexual appetite for each other. Tashi still left Adam and Olivia behind. Tashi’s mental illness interfered with all aspects of her life. The loss of a secure and sacred relationship with her sister and the way her sister died interfered with all relationships Tashi developed going forward. Tashi’s stated “she went with Adam because he came for her”; consequently, Adam took on the role as a secure base. Tashi says of Adam-“she married him because he was loyal, gentle, and familiar”. A secure base is reliable, within close proximity, and meets the needs of the partner. Tashi cares for Adam, but displays indifference to her husband, except when she knows he’s going to visit his lover, Lissette. The fear of losing her secure base becomes overwhelming. In the midst of her episodes of madness, Tashi recognizes

Show More
Related

  • Can Attachment Theory Explain All Our Relationships, By Bethany Saltman

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    Attachment theory could be considered one of the most important aspects of how we develop starting out as an infant. In the article “Can Attachment Theory Explain All Our Relationships” By: Bethany Saltman, she explains to us her personal experience and struggles raising her daughter, and her experience as a child and her own attachment. There are three types of attachment types, secure, avoidant, and resistant and the trouble with today is that only 60% of people are considered “secure”. There also subgroups that are called disorganization. Attachment will often pass generation to generation, so it is likely that if someone has an insecure attachment because of the way they were raised they will struggle to create a secure attachment for their own children. Although it can be reversed and changed with the

    Read More

  • My Virtual Child Application: The Strange Situation Application

    3272 Words  | 7 Pages

    Mary Ainsworth was known as the mother of attachment research, she tested Bowlby’s theory of attachment. She conducted a stress test better known as The Strange Situation Procedure. This consists of a series of staged episodes that illustrate the strength of attachment between a child and usually his or her mother. “The “strange situation” follows an eight-step pattern: (1) The mother and the baby enter an unfamiliar room; (2) the mother sits down, leaving the baby free to explore; (3) an adult stranger enters the room and converses first with the mother and then with the baby; (4) the mother exits the room, leaving the baby alone with the stranger; (5) the mother returns, greeting and comforting the baby, and the stranger leaves; (6) the mother departs again, leaving the baby alone; (7) the stranger returns; and (8) the mother returns and the stranger leaves.” (Cite) There are four different attachment patterns: secure, avoidant, resistant/ambivalent, and disorganized. A secure attachment is defined when the child uses the mother as a home base and the mother is responsive to the child’s needs. They are comfortable in the Strange Situation as long as the mother is there. Exploring independently, checking in with

    Read More

  • Comparing John Erikson And Mary Ainsworth And John Bowlby

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Secret Daughter Analysis

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...derate character, into an upset and disconcert one, and then finally to a mature and understanding individual throughout the novel, due to a major turning point in her life. Before finding out about her biological parents, Asha acts very immaturely and inconsiderately. After making the harsh discovery of why she was put up for adoption, Asha feels extremely upset and disconcerted. Paradoxically, however, Asha her experience moulds her for the better and modifies her into a mature and understanding women. Even though at first, this devastating discovery may have seemed very harsh to Asha, at the end it help modify her to a much better person.

    Read More

  • Case Study Of Laura's Attachment Theory

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    I will be using Attachment Theory to discuss Laura’s issues regarding relationships with others. Attachment Theory explores how a child’s relationship with their primary caregiver can influence that individual’s sense of self as well as their relationship in later years. According to Bowlby, the developer of Attachment Theory, a key concept is a secure base (Coady & Lehmann, 2008). If a young child feels as if they have a secure base as a child, it means that they have established a relationship with their caregiver that promotes nurturing experiences so that child feels safe and confident enough to explore the world around them When this type of experience is not provided and a child has a unhealthy experience with a caregiver, the child develops

    Read More

  • Criticisms Of Attachment Theory

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981). Differences in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person.

    Read More

  • Attachment Theory: Systematic Analysis Of The Family Of Origin

    1912 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Health and Social Care

    1450 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the five key principles of care practice is to ‘Support people in having a voice and being heard,’ (K101, Unit 4, p.183). The key principles are linked to the National Occupational Standards for ‘Health and Social Care’. They are a means of establishing and maintaining good care practice. Relationships based on trust and respect should be developed between care receivers and care givers, thus promoting confidence whilst discussing personal matters without fear of reprisal and discrimination.

    Read More

  • Attachment Theory Essay

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his original thesis, Bowlby (1969) never formalized an extension of his theory of attachment beyond childhood, but he clearly implied an extension should be sought. Perhaps his clearest statements regarding this extension involved his suggestions that people change to whom they are primarily attached as they age. He argued that in adolescents it was likely that peers played an increasingly important role in their attachment lives, and in adulthood, people would become primarily attached to a spouse or mate. Only in the last thirty years have scholars made a serious attempt to extend the ideas in attachment theory to adult relationships. One influential attempt came from Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) assertion that the attachment system is at least partially responsible for the adult romantic bond. Indeed multiple parallels have been drawn between the behavior in infant-caregiver interactions and adult romantic partner interactions. Zeifman and Hazan (1997) offer a fairly extensive account of the commonalities in adult romantic and infant-caregiver attachment. They note that cer...

    Read More

  • John Bowlby Attachment Theory

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1940’s, psychologist John Bowlby strongly believed early emotional connections between mother and child are an imperative part of human nature. He believed that because newborn babies are completely defenseless they are genetically programmed attach to their mothers in order to survive. He also believed that mothers are genetically programmed to be protective of their young, commonly feeling the need to keep their babies near them at all times. These ideas formed the foundation of Bowlby’s theory which were the stepping-stones of exploring the deep-rooted importance of the mother-child bond and the repercussions associated if this bond is impaired or broken, which would later come to be known as attachment theory.

    Read More

  • John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

    2162 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Infant Attachment

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • The Importance of Attachment for the Children's Development

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog By Dr. Pary

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Attachment is an important aspect through the developmental stages of a child. It is the process through which an individual develops specific bonds with others (). John Bowlby theorized Attachment Theory, which focuses on a behavioral system that demonstrates the response of an adult when a child signals which can lead to a strong trusting relationship (). Through attachment infants develop strong emotional bonds with others, which can result in a more positive outcome later in life.

    Read More

More about Mary Ainsworth's Attachment Theory In Possessing The Secret Of Joy

Open Document