Theories and Concepts
Attachment Theory
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Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and expanded by Mary Ainsworth, is a psychological and evolutionary framework explaining how early bonds between infants and caregivers shape development, identifying patterns of secure and insecure attachment that influence relationships throughout life.
Facts
Core ClaimInfants need to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver to ensure their survival and to develop healthy social and emotional functioning, and the internal patterns this bond establishes shape relationships throughout life. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
The Strange Situation is the standard research instrument for testing and operationalizing Bowlby's attachment theory.
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In Branch
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Attachment Theory
Wikimedia FoundationAttachment sectionQuote, Attachment section
Infants need to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver to ensure their survival, and to develop healthy social and emotional functioning.
1. Wikipedia: Attachment Theory
Wikimedia FoundationDeveloped By: John Bowlby, Lead sectionQuote, Developed By: John Bowlby, Lead section
Attachment theory is a psychological and evolutionary framework concerning the relationships between humans, particularly the importance of early bonds between infants and their primary caregivers.
SimplyPsychology: Mary Ainsworth
Simply PsychologyAssociated With: Ainsworth's Strange Situation, Mary Ainsworth Strange Situation Experiment, biography sectionQuote, Associated With: Ainsworth's Strange Situation, Mary Ainsworth Strange Situation Experiment, biography section
In late 1950, Ainsworth and her husband Leonard moved to London so he could complete his doctorate at University College.
Open Questions (1 open question)
Are Ainsworth's Strange Situation attachment classifications culturally universal, or do they reflect Western caregiving norms?
Attachment theory's secure/insecure classifications were developed and normed on a Western, mostly American middle-class sample, and the social milieux and caregiving arrangements the theory assumes vary widely across cultures, so it remains disputed whether the same classifications and their developmental meaning transfer to societies with different childrearing practices.
What would resolve this Attachment measures independently developed and validated within non-Western caregiving contexts, compared against the Strange Situation's own classifications and outcomes.
Wikipedia: Attachment Theory
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