FREE ESSAY ON ATTACHMENT BEHAVIOURS

ATTACHMENT BEHAVIOURS

Why have psychologists stressed the importance of attachment behaviours in development?
Many theorists agree that social contact early in a child's life is important for healthy
personality development. This is the most important relationship of the child development
period as it is from this that the child drives its confidence in the world. A break from
this relationship is experienced as highly distressing and constitutes a considerable
trauma (Schaffer 1964). Through frequent social and emotional exchanges with parents the
infant not only defines itself, but also acquires a particular style and orientation that
some researchers believe is carried over into later life (Sroufe 1978). Therefore, the
relationship between an infant and its caregiver and its development is one that has
generated much interest to developmental psychologists. John Bowlby (1958, 1968) put
forward a comprehensive account of attachment and believed that the infant and mother
instinctively trigger each other's behaviour to form an attachment bond. Attachment can
therefore be defined as ' the ability to form focused, permanent and emotionally
meaningful relationships with specific others' (Butterworth & Harris 1994). In child
psychology, attachment is often restricted to a relationship between particular social
figures and to a particular phenomenon thought to reflect unique characteristics of the
relationship ( Santrock & Bartlett 1986). This essay will attempt to examine the role and
importance of attachment behaviours in development. 
In Bowlby's view, there is a dyadic emotional regulation between the infant and the
mother or caregiver. The infant has innate signals to elicit responses from the
caregiver. Conversely, infant behaviour such as crying, cooing, smiling etc are elicited
by the caregivers specific actions e.g. leaving the room or putting the infant down.
Santrock and Bartlett (1986) found that 'the infant's behaviour is directed by the
primary goal of maintaining the mother's proximity. The baby processes information about
the mother's location and changes his behaviour based on this fact. Thus...instinct or a
fixed pattern is the primary force for developmental change, but is transformed through
social experience.' This reciprocal tie of mother and infant is a state that ensures care
and protection during the most vulnerable period of development. 
This attachment to the mother has a clear biological survival value, explaining the
significance of the mother-infant interaction within the overall framework of attachment
behaviour. Sroufe (1991) supports this view, he maintains that attachment refers to a
behavioural system, which is 'selected for its effect on the reproductive success of
individuals in the environment in which they evolved.' Bowlby argued that different
attachment behaviours, such as crying, following etc, are functionally related, in that
all may lead to the same outcome - the caregiver-infant proximity (Sroufe 1991). Bowlby
argues that attachment, is therefore a primary process, which is innate, and is mediated
by social interchange. Here the visual channel plays an important role, i.e. through
smiling and eye to eye contacts.
Bowlby outlined four phases of the development of attachment as an integrated system of
behaviours in infants:
Phase 1:- Birth - 2/3 months
The infant directs his attachment to human figures on an instinctual bias; all are
equally likely to elicit smiling or crying because the infant is not discriminating.
Phase 2:- 3-6 months
The infant's attachment focuses on one figure, typically the primary caregiver.
Phase 3:- 6-9 months
The intensity of attachment to the mother or caregiver increases. Due to this and newly
acquired motor skills, the infant now readily seeks the proximity to the caregiver.
Phase 4:- 9-12 months
The elements of attachment listed above become integrated into a mutual system of
attachment to which both infant and mother contribute.
Bowlby argued that communication between the infant and the caregiver takes the form of
non verbal communication, this can be eye to eye contact, or face to face interaction. He
went on to propose that the baby's smile is the essential catalyst that generates the
infant-caregiver interaction. The interaction goes through positive feedback on both
sides until it becomes a conversation of visually perceived gestures. 
Wright (1991) outlines the progress of this progression of 'smiling' in the development
of attachment behaviours:
Begins at birth: At first the smile is fleeting and incomplete. 
4-5 weeks: The smile is now nearly complete and the trigger for the smile becomes more
specific.
5-6 weeks: The smile response is now fully formed.
6-10 weeks: The mother/caregivers face evokes a more immediate and generous smile than
any other does.
2-3 months: The smile response to the mothers/ caregivers and other familiars becomes
more dominant; with responses to strangers becoming weaker.
8 months onwards: The specificity of response becomes firmly established; strangers are
responded to quite differently from familiar faces, and the mother/ caregivers face
evokes the strongest response of all. 
Experiments confirm that after the fifth week happy visual interactions elicit a smile
response from a baby. In weeks 6 to 12 the baby is learning the characteristics of human
faces by tracking the face, the hairline etc. The child will also grin when eye contact
is finally made. Studies support the view that the eyes are the most important part of
the 'visual gestalt' that elicits a smile (Wright 1991). Therefore, the mother's face and
the baby's smile are the central features of the playful interaction that is basic to the
attachment process. The baby's responses become increasingly directed and specific; the
mother's pleasure in and responsiveness to her baby increase as she feels that her baby
recognises her. 'Here is a conversation without words, a smiling between faces, at the
heart of human development.' (Wright 1991) 
Findings from animal studies of behaviour influenced Bowlby ideas. Harlow and Zimmerman
(1959) conducted an experiment that proved that attachment was not based on the supply of
food involving infant monkeys. The infant monkeys were placed in a cage with two, wire
mesh, surrogate monkey mothers. One was covered with terrycloth fabric while the other
was left as it was. The infant monkeys were fed from the wire mother. The hypothesis was
that if the main cause for attachment was food then one would expect that the monkeys
would cling to the wire monkey which supplied milk. In actual fact, the monkeys preferred
to spend their time between feedings close to or clinging to the cloth mother. They would
also jump on this when frightened. Harlow's studies demonstrate the importance of
physical contact for the attachment bond. Other interesting findings from this experiment
were that the baby's raised from birth in the laboratory did not establish healthy social
behaviours. They did not engage in typical mating behaviour, and mother monkeys proved to
be neglectful and abusive towards their offspring, not cuddling or feeding their young.
Harlow attributed this disruptive behaviour to the lack of social contact with other
monkeys during development (Brodzinsky,Gormly & Ambron 1979).
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) conducted an influential study which looked at sixty children
every month for their first twelve months, and showed that reinforcement from feeding was
not able to account for attachment of infants to some people. Findings showed that the
infants formed multiple attachments with parents, grandparents and siblings, and also
those who did actually took little or no care of the infants basic needs. Instead
attachments were formed with individuals who were prepared to play, be responsible and
interact socially with the child.
Based on such studies, Bowlby's reasoning was that the biological need for security has
resulted in infants possessing a number of attachment behaviours, e.g. crying, following
proximity seeking etc, and that these behaviours are used to achieve the goal of a
feeling of security, when infants feel insecure they will produce these behaviours.
Bowlby greatly influenced the way researchers thought about attachment. There then
followed the need for some sort of measurement of attachment behaviour. 
Mary Ainsworth (1971) developed Bowlby's ideas and elaborated on the phases to include
other social behaviours, and the use of the attachment figure as a secure base. The
'strange situation' was designed to measure the quality of attachment between mothers and
their infants. The procedure involved observing the infants reactions to a stranger when
in the presence of the mother, when alone with the stranger, then in the third phase,
reunited with the mother. Three characteristics patterns were observed:
(i)Group B - Secure Attachment relationships: These children use the mother as a base of
security in a strange situation, and while the mother is present are content to explore
and also react positively to strangers. However, when the mother leaves the room, they
may or may not show distress, also in the occasion of being alone with a stranger. Upon
the mothers return, securely attached babies generally make contact with their mothers,
either by looking at them or, in the case of those who have experienced distress, by
seeking contact and comfort from her. The hallmark of these children is that they use
their attachment figures to regain their source of security when stressed. This then
allows them to move freely through the world again through exploration and play. Most of
the babies tested by Ainsworth displayed this kind of behaviour.
(ii) Group C: Resistant insecurely attached relationships: These children are more likely
to seem anxious or distressed and in need of contact even when the mother is in the room.
This type of infant has trouble using the mother as a secure base for exploration. Upon
reunion with the mother after separation, the infant may, while seeking contact with her
may actively resist her efforts to comfort them.
(iii) Group A: Avoidant insecurely attached relationships: The children of this group
separate readily to play, and do not particularly seek to be close to their mother when
alone with her. They are also not particularly distressed when left alone with a
stranger. Most significantly, on reunion with their mother they show no more than a
casual greeting and may ignore, or pointedly look away from turn away from, or move away
from the caregiver. They do not initiate action and are not responsive to the mothers
attempts at interaction (Sroufe 1995).
This situation of being left alone, and then being reunited with the caregiver can be
categorised into these three categories. An explanation of this is that with prolonged
separation, the emotional upheaval is so great that the infants behavioural structure is
disorganised, and cannot be put back together immediately. 'In clinical terms, one could
speak of the infant as at first defending against the possibility of renewed pain and
vulnerability by not acknowledging the presence of the caregiver.' (Sroufe 1995) All in
all the different patterns of attachment have complex causes. They are thought to develop
as a response to different styles of mothering and as a consequence of the temperamental
characteristics of the child. However, the classification may vary from culture to
culture and the same baby may show different patterns depending on whether parents or
siblings accompany the baby in the test.
The practical importance of attachment research can be seen in the areas of
hospitalisation, and re homing orphaned or foster children. The knowledge gained from
these tests should help policy makers deal with these issues with sensitivity.
Hospitalisation of infants in particular has benefited from this research in that
caregivers are now allowed to stay in hospital with their babies or young children. The
area of day care facilities have also been benefited by this research, as it suggests
that a brief separation does not disrupt the healthy attachment bond as it was previously
thought to do. However, if there is already stress in the home environment, the
separation and insecure attachment may have adverse consequences. Longer term
consequences of disrupted attachment are more difficult to establish; but is thought to
be reversible, as children brought up in orphanages become securely attached to their
adoptive parents even as late as 8 years old ( Tizard and Hodges 1978 cited in
Butterworth & Harris 1994). 
In conclusion, Bowlby's ideas and research provided a comprehensive basis for present day
approaches to attachment. Research implies that there are, therefore three main
characteristics of attachment behaviours: Firstly, the infant seeks the closeness and
proximity of the caregiver. Secondly, that the infant shows distress at separation from
the attachment figure and then relief upon reunion, i.e., displays a clear preference
even without physical contact by eye contact or attentiveness to the sound of the
caregivers voice. Thirdly, that the infant uses the attachment figure as a secure base
from which to explore its physical and social environment (Brodzinsky, Gormly and Ambron
1979). The importance of attachment in the development of an infant cannot be
underestimated, as it is from this bond that the infant finds comfort security and a base
from which to explore his/her environment safely. Attachment behaviours can be seen as
the manifestation of this need that the infant has, as research suggests that a break
from a meaningful, emotionally charged lasting relationship will produce highly
distressing consequences. 
Reference:
Ainsworth, M., Blehar, M.C., Waters,E. and Wall,S. (1978) Patterns of Attachment,
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bowlby, J (1969) Attachment and Loss, Vol1 Harmondsworth: Pelican Books.
Brodzinsky, D.M., Gormly, A.V., Ambron, S.A., (1979) Lifespan Human Development, (3rd
Ed.) 123-133, New York:Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Butterworth, G., Harris, M., (1994) Principles of Developmental Psychology, Chap. 6,
Hove: LEA.
Cardwell, M., Clark, L., Meldrum, c., (1996) Psychology for A'level, London:
HarperCollins.
Santrock, J.W., Bartlett, J.C. (1986) Developmental Psychology: A life-cycle Perspective.
294-299, Iowa: Wm.C.Brown.
Schaffer, H.R.,(1998) Making Decisions about Children, (2nd Ed.) 20-29, Blackwell.
Sroufe, L. Alan, (1995) Emotional Development, The organization of emotional life in the
early years. Chap.10, Cambridge:CUP.
Wright, K. (1991) Vision and Separation: Between mother and baby, 8-11, London:FAB.