Attachment Theory
One theory that can be utilized to better understand human development is attachment theory. Attachment theory was created by John Bowlby and the additional work of Mary Ainsworth. The theory has four main ideas:
The first is that children develop emotional attachments to their familiar caregivers between the ages of 6 and 30 months.
The second idea is that children show their emotional attachments by demonstrating preferences for certain familiar people and tend to want to be near those people. Children desire to use these familiar people as secure bases to explore the environment.
The third idea is that these early emotional attachments contribute to the foundation of emotional experiences and personality development in later life. Attachment theory emphasizes that the behaviors exhibited by a toddler towards their familiar adults will have some continuity to the social behaviors shown later in life in different important relationships.
The fourth idea is that certain events, such as separation of the toddler from familiar people (because of death, incarceration, family removal, etc.) will have short-term or possible long-term, negative impacts on the child’s emotional and cognitive development. Inability for a caregiver to be warm, consistent, responsive, and supportive of the child’s needs, will also result in negative impacts on the child’s ability to form secure attachments throughout the life span.
Attachment theory outlines four different attachment styles: secure attachment, anxious-ambivalent attachment, anxious-avoidant attachment, and disorganized attachment.
Secure attachment is believed to be the ideal style and is characterized by the child feeling secure in the presence of their caregiver and will be able to explore freely while the caregiver is there. A securely attached child is upset when the caregiver departs, but happy to see them when they return.
In contrast, an anxious-ambivalent attachment style is characterized by the child feeling upset when the caregiver leaves, but unable to feel reassured when the caregiver returns. The child may continue to cry and have difficulty feeling comforted by the return of their caregiver.
An anxious-avoidant style is demonstrated by the child showing little emotion when the caregiver departs or returns and will not explore much regardless of who is present.
Disorganized attachment is characterized by a lack of attachment behavior and the child will show overt displays of fear and contradictory behaviors. This is characterized by the child both reaching for comfort, and pulling away.
John Bowlby emphasized in his work on Attachment Theory that there is an innate human need for connectedness, and this need exists throughout the lifetime, from cradle to grave. Due to the lasting need for connection even into adulthood, learning about your attachment style can be a crucial step in better understanding how you show up in relationships and relate to others. If you are interested in learning more and discovering your own attachment style, book an Adult Attachment Interview today!