Research Paper On Attachment

Sarah Pacheco
Psychology 101
Term Paper
October 25, 2017

Psychology and Attachment Becoming attached to someone, or in some cases something, is a part of human nature. In most cases attachment begins at birth between a child and its caregiver but, what exactly is attachment and what does it mean? Humans are different from other animals. Like ducklings, a lot of animals begin to follow and imitate the first thing they see. This is called imprinting. Yet, humans do not imprint, they become attached. Attached meaning newborn children develop a strong emotional bond to their caregivers. Attachment can be seen as a survival tactic for infants since they have no way of protecting themselves. Attachment during infancy is also seen an important
aspect of future development of relationships. Just as attachment feeds the need for security in infants, the same concept applies to that for adult relationship. According to Crowell et al, “Attachment relationships in adulthood provide feelings of security and belonging” (p. 156) The way a child bonds with their caregiver can reflect how they may act towards partners in future relations, romantic or not. Attachment was first studied under psychologist John Bowlby. He observed the emotional attachments between an infant and their caregiver, which in most cases is the mother, and the distress of the babies in absence of their caregiver. He dubbed this reaction as ‘Separation Anxiety’. From these observations, Bowlby came forward with his ‘Attachment Theory’, which comes with the idea that, dependent on the style the caregiver falls into, the child can develop independency and with confidence, knowing the caregiver is there if needed. Also, that bond created with an infant and a caregiver is critical because it serves as a model for future relationships. Not long after, psychologist Mary Ainsworth and her associates wanted to test this theory by experimenting. Her experiment, which she called the ‘Strange Situation’, consisted of a twenty-minute session which placed mild stress on an infant. The procedure went as followed: First, the caregiver and the infant (12 months) are left alone in a playroom. Then a stranger enters the room and after a few minutes the caregiver leaves the room, leaving the child alone with the stranger. Then, at another point, the child is left completely alone, only to be reunited with the caregiver soon after. Ainsworth and her associates then used their reactions to rate how the distressed infant reacted when reunited. From the experiment, descriptions of attachment styles were brought forth.
There were two main styles: Secure and insecure attachment. Children who were securely attached were distressed in the absence of the caregiver, yet initiated contact with their caregiver upon their return. Secure attachment is viewed as a warm and positive relationship between the infant and caregiver and promotes development of independence and confidence in the child. According to Dwivedi, “The dyadic relationship between caregiver and child is dependent on consistent responsive parenting…” (pg. 59) and this seems to ring true. This is because the caregiver is seen as responsive to the infant and that this gives a sense of security to the infant knowing that their caregiver is there is there if
needed. As for insecure attachment, there are three subgroups. The first is Insecure Avoidant. Children who fell under this category tended to show little to no distress in the absence of their caregiver. Upon return of their caregiver, the infant avoids them and shifts focus. This may be because the infant may view the caregiver as somewhat rejecting and does not fulfill their needs adequately. The next subgroup is Insecure Resistant. Infants could not be comforted when their caregiver returned, some even actively resisting their caregivers altogether. This may be because an infant is not confident in being consoled. The last subgroup is Insecure Disorganized meaning, that the infants showed inconsistent behaviors before and after reuniting with their caregiver. This might be because the infant may be afraid from the caregiver from possibly being maltreated in the past. Although that is not the case for all, it applies to some. I find this concept interesting and is why I chose to write about it.
I had some idea that relationships with parents and a child can impact how a person can act, like when children don’t get enough attention they may act out, but I did not know that attachment style impacts future romantic relationships as well. I find myself observing how I act in my relationship now, and try to apply these concepts to my actions to have a better understanding of why I behave the way that I do with my partner. Overall, Attachment is an important aspect of psychology as a whole. From it, we get an understanding of how and why humans bond, create relationships as well as the psychological influence on a person’s behavioral and mental development as they
age. If I were to conduct further research on this concept, I think I would stick to the general procedure of the Ainsworth experiment. I would like to investigate the differences between males and females and see if gender plays a role in attachment. From this, we can try see which gender has a higher secure/insecure attachment rate than the other, and see if it correlates to the rate of mental illness present for each gender. For example, if its seen that males have a higher percentage of insecure attachment, can we apply that to why depression/anxiety and other mental illness is more present in males or females If this were the case, the independent variable would be the child and their gender. The dependent variable would be the response of the children. In conclusion, attachment is a very important aspect of psychology and understanding of human relationships. We can learn more and get a better in depth look of the bonding .

Work Cited
Crowell, J., Fraley, R. & Shaver, P. (1999) Measurement of individual differences in adolescent and adult attachment. In Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research and Clinical Applications (eds J. Cassidy & P. Shaver). New York: Guilford.

Dwivedi, Kedar Nath., and Harper, Brinley Peter. Promoting the Emotional Well-Being of Children and Adolescents and Preventing Their Mental Ill Health: A Handbook. J. Kingsley, 2005.