Leah Cooper
Laura Davis, Adult
Search results
What is attachment? Attachment is an emotional bond that forms in early childhood when we are 10 to 20 months old based on our parents’ behavior. Unconscious patterns become set in place by the time we are two years old. Our attachment style is at the core of how we form adult relationships whether they are romantic or friendships.
- Attachment Quiz
Over 500,000 people have already taken our free attachment...
- Anxious Attachment
If you prefer to go the route of a workbook, we recently...
- Attachment Styles
In contrast, the secure attachment style implies that a...
- Start to Heal
The Path to Healing Insecure Attachment Insecure attachment...
- Blog
It just helps to know the signs of secure attachment and...
- Disorganized Attachment
The disorganized attachment digital workbook includes: 193...
- Emotional Regulation
Emotion Regulation vs. Emotion Dysregulation . Intense...
- Avoidant Attachment
The avoidant attachment style (referred to as...
- Secure Attachment
The secure attachment style is the most common type of...
- Attachment Books
Attachment Theory, a transformative approach to the...
- Attachment Quiz
Summary. Attachment theory was founded by John Bowlby (1907–1990), a British child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. The theory builds on an integration of evolutionary theory and ethology, cybernetics and cognitive science, as well as psychoanalytic object relations theory.
- Overview
- History of the Attachment Theory
- Understanding Attachment
- Ainsworth's "Strange Situation"
- Maternal Deprivation Studies
- The Stages of Attachment
- Factors That Influence Attachment
- Attachment Styles
- The Lasting Impact of Early Attachment
- A Word From Verywell
Trending Videos
Attachment theory focuses on relationships and bonds (particularly long-term) between people, including those between a parent and child and between romantic partners. It is a psychological explanation for the emotional bonds and relationships between people.
British psychologist John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist. He described attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings." Bowlby was interested in understanding the anxiety and distress that children experience when separated from their primary caregivers.
Thinkers like Freud suggested that infants become attached to the source of pleasure. Infants, who are in the oral stage of development, become attached to their mothers because she fulfills their oral needs.
Some of the earliest behavioral theories suggested that attachment was simply a learned behavior. These theories proposed that attachment was merely the result of the feeding relationship between the child and the caregiver. Because the caregiver feeds the child and provides nourishment, the child becomes attached.
Bowlby observed that feedings did not diminish separation anxiety. Instead, he found that attachment was characterized by clear behavioral and motivation patterns. When children are frightened, they seek proximity from their primary caregiver in order to receive both comfort and care.
Attachment is an emotional bond with another person. Bowlby believed that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendous impact that continues throughout life. He suggested that attachment also serves to keep the infant close to the mother, thus improving the child's chances of survival.
Bowlby viewed attachment as a product of evolutionary processes. While the behavioral theories of attachment suggested that attachment was a learned process, Bowlby and others proposed that children are born with an innate drive to form attachments with caregivers.
Throughout history, children who maintained proximity to an attachment figure were more likely to receive comfort and protection, and therefore more likely to survive to adulthood. Through the process of natural selection, a motivational system designed to regulate attachment emerged.
The central theme of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are available and responsive to an infant's needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. The infant learns that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world.
In her research in the 1970s, psychologist Mary Ainsworth expanded greatly upon Bowlby's original work. Her groundbreaking "strange situation" study revealed the profound effects of attachment on behavior. In the study, researchers observed children between the ages of 12 and 18 months as they responded to a situation in which they were briefly left alone and then reunited with their mothers.
Based on the responses the researchers observed, Ainsworth described three major styles of attachment: secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Later, researchers Main and Solomon (1986) added a fourth attachment style called disorganized-insecure attachment based on their own research.
A number of studies since that time have supported Ainsworth's attachment styles and have indicated that attachment styles also have an impact on behaviors later in life.
How to Be Less Insecure
Harry Harlow's infamous studies on maternal deprivation and social isolation during the 1950s and 1960s also explored early bonds. In a series of experiments, Harlow demonstrated how such bonds emerge and the powerful impact they have on behavior and functioning.
In one version of his experiment, newborn rhesus monkeys were separated from their birth mothers and reared by surrogate mothers. The infant monkeys were placed in cages with two wire-monkey mothers. One of the wire monkeys held a bottle from which the infant monkey could obtain nourishment, while the other wire monkey was covered with a soft terry cloth.
While the infant monkeys would go to the wire mother to obtain food, they spent most of their days with the soft cloth mother. When frightened, the baby monkeys would turn to their cloth-covered mother for comfort and security.
Harlow's work also demonstrated that early attachments were the result of receiving comfort and care from a caregiver rather than simply the result of being fed.
Researchers Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson analyzed the number of attachment relationships that infants form in a longitudinal study with 60 infants. The infants were observed every four weeks during the first year of life, and then once again at 18 months.
Based on their observations, Schaffer and Emerson outlined four distinct phases of attachment, including:
While this process may seem straightforward, there are some factors that can influence how and when attachments develop, including:
•Opportunity for attachment: Children who do not have a primary care figure, such as those raised in orphanages, may fail to develop the sense of trust needed to form an attachment.
There are four patterns of attachment, including:
•Ambivalent attachment: These children become very distressed when a parent leaves. Ambivalent attachment style is considered uncommon, affecting an estimated 7% to 15% of U.S. children. As a result of poor parental availability, these children cannot depend on their primary caregiver to be there when they need them.
•Avoidant attachment: Children with an avoidant attachment tend to avoid parents or caregivers, showing no preference between a caregiver and a complete stranger. This attachment style might be a result of abusive or neglectful caregivers. Children who are punished for relying on a caregiver will learn to avoid seeking help in the future.
•Disorganized attachment: These children display a confusing mix of behavior, seeming disoriented, dazed, or confused. They may avoid or resist the parent. Lack of a clear attachment pattern is likely linked to inconsistent caregiver behavior. In such cases, parents may serve as both a source of comfort and fear, leading to disorganized behavior.
•Secure attachment: Children who can depend on their caregivers show distress when separated and joy when reunited. Although the child may be upset, they feel assured that the caregiver will return. When frightened, securely attached children are comfortable seeking reassurance from caregivers. This is the most common attachment style.
Take the Quiz to Find Out Your Attachment Style
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.
Research suggests that failure to form secure attachments early in life can have a negative impact on behavior in later childhood and throughout life.
Our understanding of attachment theory is heavily influenced by the early work of researchers such as John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Today, researchers recognize that the early relationships children have with their caregivers play a critical role in healthy development.
Such bonds can also have an influence on romantic relationships in adulthood. Understanding your attachment style may help you look for ways to become more secure in your relationships.
9 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
1.Bowlby J. Attachment and Loss. Basic Books.
2.Bowlby J. Attachment and loss: Retrospect and prospect. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1982;52(4):664-678. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb01456.x
Jan 17, 2024 · Attachment is characterized by specific behaviors in children, such as seeking proximity to the attachment figure when upset or threatened (Bowlby, 1969). Attachment theory explains how the parent-child relationship emerges and influences subsequent development.
People also ask
How attachment theory developed further?
What did ethologists think about attachment theory?
How does attachment theory influence romantic relationships in adulthood?
What is attachment & why is it important?
What Is Attachment Theory? As a concept that focuses on relationships and bonds, attachment theory is rising in interest and popularity. At The Attachment Project, we value the innovative research that continuously furthers our work.
An attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary, and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans. The most important tenet is that young children need to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for their survival, and for them to develop a healthy social and emotional functioning.
Jan 19, 2024 · Much of the knowledge we have on this subject today comes from a concept developed in the 1950s called attachment theory. This theory will be the focus of this article: We’ll explore what it is, how it describes and explains behavior, and what its applications are in the real world.
