Attachment Theory
by Saul McLeod, published 2009
Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another
across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969).
Attachment does not have to be reciprocal. One person may have an attachment with an
individual which is not shared. Attachment is characterized by specific behaviors in
children, such as seeking proximity with the attachment figure when upset or threatened
(Bowlby, 1969).
Attachment behavior in adults towards the child includes responding sensitively and
appropriately to the child’s needs. Such behavior appears universal across cultures.
Attachment theory provides an explanation of how the parent-child relationship emerges
and influences subsequent development.
Attachment theory in psychology originates with the seminal work of John Bowlby
(1958). In the 1930’s John Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in a Child Guidance Clinic
in London, where he treated many emotionally disturbed children. This experience led
Bowlby to consider the importance of the child’s relationship with their mother in terms
of their social, emotional and cognitive development. Specifically, it shaped his belief
about the link between early infant separations with the mother and later maladjustment,
and led Bowlby to formulate his attachment theory.
John Bowlby, working alongside James Robertson (1952) observed that children
experienced intense distress when separated from their mothers. Even when such
children were fed by other caregivers this did not diminish the child’s anxiety.
Bowlby defined attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human
beings” (1969, p.194).
Bowlby (1958) proposed that attachment can be understood within an evolutionary
context in that the caregiver provides safety and security for the infant. Attachment is
adaptive as it enhances the infant’s chance of survival. According to Bowlby infants
have a universal need to seek close proximity with their caregiver when under stress or
threatened (Prior & Glaser, 2006).
Most researchers believe that attachment develops through a series of stages.
1
Stages of Attachment
Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for
the first 18 months of life.
The children were all studied in their own home and a regular pattern was identified in
the development of attachment. The babies were visited monthly for approximately one
year, their interactions with their carers were observed, and carers were interviewed.
Evidence for the development of an attachment was that the baby showed separation
anxiety after a carer left.
They discovered that baby's attachments develop in the following sequence:
• Up to 3 months of age - Indiscriminate attachments. The newborn is predisposed to
attach to any human. Most babies respond equally to any caregiver.
• After 4 months - Preference for certain people. Infants they learn to distinguish
primary and secondary caregivers but accept care from anyone.
• After 7 months - Special preference for a single attachment figure. The baby looks to
particular people for security, comfort and protection. It shows fear of strangers
(stranger fear) and unhappiness when separated from a special person (separation
anxiety). Some babies show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more
frequently and intensely than others, but nevertheless they are seen as evidence
that the baby has formed an attachment. This has usually developed by one year
of age.
• After 9 months - Multiple attachments. The baby becomes increasingly independent
and forms several attachments.
The results of the study indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those
who responded accurately to the baby's signals, not the person they spent most time with.
Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness.
Many of the babies had several attachments by 10 months old, including attachments to
mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings and neighbors. The mother was the main
attachment figure for about half of the children at 18 months old and the father for most
of the others. The most important fact in forming attachments is not who feeds and
changes the child but who plays and communicates with him or her.
