Essay on Basic Concepts in Attachment Theory - 2804 Words

Basic Concepts in Attachment Theory Attachment theory is the joint work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth Bowlby, 1991 ). Drawing on concepts from ethology, cybernetics, information processing, developmental psychology, and psychoanalysts, John Bowlby formulated the basic tenets of the theory. He thereby revolutionized our thinking about a child’s tie to the mother and its disruption through separation, deprivation, and bereavement. Mary Ainsworth’s innovative methodology not only made it possible to test some of Bowlby’s ideas empirically hut also helped expand the theory itself and is responsible for some of the new directions it is now taking. Ainsworth contributed the concept of the attachment figure as a secure†¦show more content†¦129), a life-span perspective shared by Ainsworth 1989[pic]. And indeed, research on attachment in childhood has been complemented by expanding attention to attachment in adults. |Attachment in Adulthood | | | Attachment patterns are hypothesized to persist across the life span through the reinforcing properties of internal working models (Bowlby 1973[pic]; Main, Kaplan, and Cassidy 1985[pic]). The first attachment relationship provides a template, a self-perpetuating schema that influences subsequent relationships. Mental representations from early attachment bonds thereby influence how individuals seek, anticipate, and interpret future interpersonal interactions (West and Sheldon-Keller 1994[pic]). Reflecting its roots, attachment theory also has emerged as a framework for understanding the relationship between adult children and their parents. Some theorists have suggested that adult children relinquish their parents as attachment figures (Weiss 1982[pic]), whereas others have amassed secondary evidence that attachments to parents are sustained (Krause and Haverkamp 1996[pic]). In a study of adult children whose parents were institutionalized, Crispi, Schiaffino, and Berman 1997[pic] found that childrens attachment style predicted aspects of their well-being.Show MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Attachment Theory1421 Words   |  6 Pages There are a lot of close relationship theory that are studied in social psychology but one of the main theory is attachment theory. This theory not only provides a framework for understanding emotional reactions in infants but also in love, loneliness, and grief in adults. In adults there are attachment styles that are a type of working model that explains certain behaviors that are developed at infancy and childhood. 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