This essay will compare and contrast the work of psychologists Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth. To compare and contrast will be to emphasise the similarities and differences of both Harlow and Ainsworth’s work on understanding attachment, to which they have both made great contribution. Attachment refers to the mutually affectionate developing bond between a mother and any other caregiver (Custance 2010). It is a bond in which the infant sees the caregiver as a protective and security figure. Failing to form any type of attachment during the earliest years of childhood is thought to lead to social and emotional developmental issues that can carry on well into adult life (Custance 2010). Attachment theory was formulated by psychoanalyst …show more content…
Mary Ainsworth is known for her ‘Strange Situation’ (Custance 2010) studies with children. Her theory was that the quality of an infant’s attachment depends largely on the kind of attention the infant has received. She observed the attachment styles of children, mostly aged between 12 and 24 months, by placing them in an environment and recording their reactions to their mothers (or primary caregivers) leaving the room and then returning. Based on these observations Ainsworth concluded that there are different types of attachment. Three types of attachment are: ‘anxious-avoidant’, where the child shows little upset with the stranger, but will avoid contact with the parent on their return. The ‘securely attached’ child is one that will show moderate levels of proximity seeking towards the parents and is upset by their departure but deals with the parents return positively, often returning to play. The third type is the ‘anxious-resistant’ child; greatly upset by the parent’s departure and on reunion seems angry and will not be comforted or picked up (Custance 2010).
There are similarities in the work of both Harlow and Ainsworth on attachment. Firstly, both of them used studies demonstrating attachment beyond Bowlby’s idea of ‘cupboard love’ (Custance 2010), with Harlow’s experiment in the 1950’s giving an example of the power and strength of attachment with the monkeys sometimes returning to an abusive
Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) also formulated a theory of attachment based on their longitudinal study of 60 babies in Glasgow looking at the gradual development of attachments; they visited them monthly for the first year of their lives and returned again at 18 months. (Bailey et al. 2008). Similar to Bowlby’s research, Schaffer and Emerson also formulated four key stages of attachment and produced
The term ‘attachment’ is used by psychologists who study the child’s early relationships. An attachment is a unique emotional bond normal between a child and an adult. A theorist called John Bowlby (1970-90) had a relation to the attachment theory. In 1950s John identified that when children and
Ainsworth (1978) developed the Strange Situation Theory, which is how one is able to view the different levels of attachment (Groh, Roisman, Booth-LaForce, Flaley, Owen, Cox, & Burchinal, 2014). The first attachment is secure attachment, which is when a child is able to greet and seek out contact with the caregiver upon arrival after a stressful separation (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). The next is anxious-avoidant/resistant (insecure) attachment, when the child has no want to contact with the caregiver while showing signs of resistance upon the return (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). The last and the most crucial to child development is disoriented/ disorganized attachment; conflicting responses from the child which show hostile and aggressive behavior toward the caregiver (Haltigan & Roisman, 2015). All of these attachements show the different types of ways that a child can communicate with their caregiver. These actions are the representations of their early attachment and experiences with the caregiver (Siebert & Kerns, 2015). If there are no changes toward the environment, the attention
John Bowlby, the backbone of attachment theories will be discussed throughout this essay to explain and evaluate the key theories of attachment. Health and well-being which is made up of four factors ‘physical, intellectual, emotional and social ' (Jones, 2016), will also be discussed within the essay. The definition of attachment is ‘an act of attaching or the state of being attached. ' (Dictionary, 1400) This will be showed in the assignment, using theorists to analyse the meaning. Sharing the strengths and weaknesses in some theorists will help conclude this assignment.
This essay will comprise, firstly, of past research looking into what attachment/ attachment theory is, focusing on Bowlby’s (1973) research into why an infant’s first attachment is so important. Followed, by the work of Ainsworth et al (1978) bringing to light the findings from the strange situation, and how the research can explain mental illness. From this and in-depth discussion looking at how the previously discussed pieces of research have an effect on two particular disorders, depression and anxiety; while keeping a holistic approach considering other variables within attachment theory which have been linked with the development of these disorders. Through-out, the implications of knowing about this potential link between attachment and mental health will also be discussed. Finally, a conclusion will be made to whether there is a strong link with attachment and mental illness.
In 1979, developmental psychologist Mary Ainsworth conducted an experiment with infants to determine if they had insecure or secure attachment to their mothers. In what she called a “Strange Situation,” babies had to cope with their mothers leaving the room and being left alone with a stranger. The ones who cried at first, played with the stranger, and then were happy when the mother returned were deemed to have secure attachment. Those who could not cope with their mother’s departure or begrudgingly ignored their mother upon return, were considered to have insecure attachment (Ainsworth). Later on in life, these infants were studied again.
In this case study psychodynamic theory by Freud (1859-1939) and attachment theory by Bowlby (1907-1990) seems the most pertinent to this case study. The claim of psychodynamic theory is that outcomes in adulthood are predicted from infancy. Freud maintained that we have several levels of conscious and unconscious thought and as suggested by Hothersall (2014) the problems in day to day functioning are seen as a result of negative early experiences that have not been resolved. Also looking at attachment theory where the nature and importance of the parent-child relationship helps explain any behavioural or relationship problems in a family situation we know through Bowlby (1958) and Ainsworth (1973) that the degree of security in the first attachment is thought to be the most influential factor in the child’s internal working models of relationships and will shape all intimate interpersonal bonds formed by the individual in future
Mary Main was Ainssowrth student. She therefore introduced another fourth category of attachment styles with her attachment studies with adults. During her longitudinal research project alongside her colleague Goldwyn on middle class children’s attachment styles, they found that about 79% of the time attachment styles remained constant from 18 months to 6 years of age (in Brandell & Ringel, 2007,). However in their observations about 5%) that did not fit into Ainsworth’s classification of attachment styles, which they called ‘disorganized/disoriented attachment’ (Main & Solomon, 1986, 1990). These children were fearful and engaged in repetitive or aggressive behaviors. Their behaviors at reunion were unpredictable. They displayed
The concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the
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,
These characteristics are well demonstrated in Mary Ainsworth’s experiment of the “strange situation.” Researcher Chris Fraley describes the study as, “a group of 12 month-old infants and their parents are brought in to the laboratory and, systematically separated from and reunited with one another.” Approximately 58 percent of the children demonstrated characteristics of secure attachment. When the parent left the room the child displayed signs of distress with a need to be close to the attachment figure. When the parent returned to the room, the child eagerly approached
In this essay I will explore the meaning and purpose of attachment and discuss research into attachment concentrating on John Bowlby’s 1944 “44 thieves” study conducted to test his maternal deprivation theory and Schaffer & Emerson’s 1964 “ Glasgow babies” study.
By responding with care and comfort, this enables for an “attachment bond” to form between the infant and caregiver, most commonly the mother (White et al., 2013). Following on from Bowlby’s theory, Mary Ainsworth investigated the theory of attachment through observing the reactions of infants when their mothers left them alone with strangers. The investigation was named as the “Ainsworth’s strange situation assessment” (White et al., 2013). It was discovered through this investigation that infants who had secure attachments with their mothers were upset when separated and were easily soothed when the mother returns. This investigation implies that infants with secure attachment to their mothers show signs of normal social development.
A psychologist by the name of Mary Ainsworth conducted a study named “Strange Situation” where she talks about three types of styles of attachment. These styles include secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Mary Ainsworth is mainly known for her extended research on the work of John Bowlby and Attachment Theory. Ainsworth created a procedure called “Strange Situation” in order to observe and asses the condition of attachment in relationships with caregivers and children. In this study, the child involved is observed for twenty minutes as they play in a room