Attachment Theory Explained: Bowlby, Ainsworth, Styles

Attachment Theory: Key Authors and Concepts

Key authors in attachment theory include John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, and Mary Main.

John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Bowlby posited attachment as a fundamental human need, essential for survival yet relatively independent of other basic needs. Attachment is a biologically based motivational system that ensures an infant's proximity to a specific, preferred human being.

It is structured through interactive experiences, where communication precedes symbolic representation, evolving into affective contact. The attachment bond is directed towards a specific, differentiated, and preferred person. It seeks proximity and contact, generating anxiety when this desire is threatened.

The attachment system activates in stressful or traumatic situations (such as pain, fear, or humiliation), motivating individuals to seek protection throughout life. Attachment behaviors are reciprocally matched between adults.

Mary Ainsworth and The Strange Situation

The Strange Situation Paradigm: Mary Ainsworth (1978) developed the Strange Situation procedure. This test assesses an infant's response to brief separations from their primary caregiver, observing their distress levels and subsequent reunion behaviors.

Attachment Styles and Patterns

This test allowed researchers to observe distinct patterns of reaction to separation, describing different attachment styles:

• Secure Attachment: When the caregiver leaves, the child protests and shows distress, often crying and refusing to explore. Upon the caregiver's return, the child actively seeks reunion and comfort, quickly calming down and returning to play.
• Insecure-Avoidant Attachment: These children avoid close proximity with the caregiver and show minimal overt signs of distress or disappointment when the caregiver leaves the room. Upon the caregiver's return, they actively avoid contact.
• Insecure-Ambivalent/Resistant Attachment: Children react strongly to separation, showing significant distress. When the caregiver returns, they seek reunion and comfort but may also display anger, resistance, or passivity, making it difficult for the caregiver to soothe them.

Internal Working Models (IWMs)

Internal Working Models (IWMs) are cognitive maps, representations, or scripts an individual holds about themselves and their environment. They organize subjective experience, highlighting or selecting specific information. Formed during attachment-relevant experiences, they reflect the outcome of an individual's caregiving demands. They operate unconsciously, with more primitive models potentially influencing behavior beyond conscious awareness.