attachment theory

hat is Attachment?

An attachment, in its literal meaning, is a tie or fastening. Attachment, especially

between people, is often defined positively as affection, devotion (Concise

Oxford Dictionary) or even love, although harmful attachments, for example to a

damaging substance or person, clearly exist.

An attachment as it is defined in attachment theory has a specific meaning,

both in terms of its nature and the person to whom it applies. According to

attachment theory, an attachment is a bond or tie between an individual and an

attachment figure. In adult relationships, people may be mutual and reciprocal

attachment figures, but in the relationship between the child and parent, this is

not the case. The reason for this clear distinction is inherent in the theory. In

attachment theory, an attachment is a tie based on the need for safety, security

and protection. This need is paramount in infancy and childhood, when the

developing individual is immature and vulnerable. Thus, infants instinctively

attach to their carer(s). In this sense, attachment serves the specific biological

function of promoting protection, survival and, ultimately, genetic replication. 1

In the relationship between the child and the parent, the term ‘attachment’

applies to the infant or child and the term ‘attachment figure’ invariably refers to

their primary carer. In the terms of attachment theory, it is incorrect to refer to a

parent’s attachment to their child or attachment between parents and children.

Attachment, therefore, is not synonymous with love or affection; it is not an

overall descriptor of the relationship between the parent and child which

includes other parent–child interactions such as feeding, stimulation, play or

problem solving.

The attachment figure’s equivalent tie to the child is termed the ‘caregiving

bond’.

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un de r U. S. o r ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

EBSCO Publishing : eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost) – printed on 1/8/2019 11:08 PM via SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIV AN: 180451 ; Prior, Vivien, Glaser, Danya, FOCUS (Project).; Understanding Attachment and Attachment Disorders : Theory, Evidence and Practice Account: shapiro

An evolutionary perspective Attachment theory is an evolutionary theory.

2 Species evolve by adapting to

their environment, the most successful being those which adapt most effectively

and efficiently. The mechanism by which this occurs is natural selection, which

operates through successive reproduction over aeons of time. Bowlby uses the

term ‘environment of evolutionary adaptedness’ (EEA) to refer to the environ-

ment from which biological systems are evolved. He suggests that the EEA for

human instinctive behaviour, that is the environment in which our present

behavioural equipment is likely to have been evolved, existed long before the

increases in diversity of habitat that have occurred over the past few thousand

years. This environment was one in which humans were predominantly

hunter-gatherers and protection from predators and other dangers was best

achieved by staying close to a protective adult. Bowlby stresses that placing

humans’ EEA in the primeval past implies no judgement on past or present exis-

tence. Rather, he is concerned with understanding: ‘not a single feature of a

species’ morphology, physiology, or behaviour can be understood or even dis-

cussed intelligently except in relation to that species’ environment of evolution-

ary adaptedness’ (Bowlby 1969, p.64).

Attachment behaviour is proximity-seeking to the attachment figure in the

face of threat. Bowlby termed this proximity the ‘set-goal’ of the attachment

behavioural system. Fear is the appreciation of danger and calls for a response.

There is a survival advantage in sensing danger before it occurs; that is, in

knowing the conditions which are potentially unsafe. Among these ‘natural

clues to an increased risk of danger’, Bowlby lists strangeness (unfamiliarity),

sudden change of stimulation, rapid approach, height and being alone. These

conditions tend to be appraised in terms of fear. Fear and attachment behaviour

are often simultaneously activated. Conditions in which two or more natural

clues to danger are present are likely to elicit an intense activation. The antici-

pated outcome of this activation is increased proximity to an attachment figure.

Bowlby uses the analogy of an army in the field. The safety of the army

depends on both its defence against attack and its contact with and security of

its base. The analogy is applied to a child sensing a clue to danger. The fear

elicited by the clue to danger, Bowlby termed ‘alarm’; the fear of being cut off or

separated from one’s base, he termed ‘anxiety’. In attachment theory, the base is

the attachment figure. Separation anxiety thus refers to separation from an

attachment figure. Separation in this context, however, does not refer merely to

the absence of the attachment figure. ‘What is crucial is the availability of the

figure. It is when a figure is perceived as having become inaccessible and unre-

sponsive, that separation distress (grief ) occurs, and the anticipation of the

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possible occurrence of such a situation arouses anxiety’ (Ainsworth et al.

1978, p.21).

The attachment behavioural system Attachment operates through the attachment behavioural system. This com-

prises many different behaviours which may, individually, also serve other

behavioural systems. The feature that combines diverse behaviours into a behav-

ioural system is that they serve a common outcome. Bowlby uses the term ‘pre-

dictable outcome’ for this, meaning that once the system is activated the

outcome in question is likely to occur. The predictable outcome of the attach-

ment behavioural system is to bring the individual into closer proximity, or to

maintain proximity with his or her attachment figure, with the instinctive

expectation that the attachment figure will remove the stressors, thus deactivat-

ing the need for the attachment behaviour.

Activation and termination of attachment behaviour In his original formulation of attachment theory, Bowlby conceived of attach-

ment as a start–stop system (1969, p.258). When the child is experiencing

comfort (or an absence of discomfort) the system is relaxed. Attachment behav-

iour is activated by the child’s sense of discomfort or threat and is (usually) ter-

minated as the discomfort is relieved. However, as Main points out (1999,

p.858), there is now a general acceptance that the attachment system is best con-

ceived of as continually active. This modification, she informs, was proposed at

an early stage by Ainsworth and Bretherton who realised that a ‘turned off ’

system would leave the child vulnerable and at risk. Thus, in the absence of dis-

comfort or alarm, the attachment behavioural system, rather than being inactive,

operates by continuously monitoring the proximity and the physical and psy-

chological accessibility of the attachment figure. Bowlby immediately accepted

this early modification. The ‘setting’ or degree of proximity (set-goal) varies

according to the level of activation. Thus, if the activation is intense (the child is

intensely alarmed) the setting of the set-goal may require very close proximity

to, or actual physical contact with, the attachment figure. If the activation is low,

the setting of the set-goal may be such that merely gaining sight of the attach-

ment figure will suffice to deactivate the attachment behaviour (Ainsworth et al.

1978, pp.10–11).

What is Attachment? 17

un de r U. S. o r ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

Activation of attachment behaviour

The level of activation depends on the level of the child’s discomfort or their

perception of the severity of the threat. At its simplest, the discomfort may be

mere physical distance from the caregiver. Vocal signalling by the child may

bring the carer back to a comfortable distance, or with locomotion, the child

may restore a comfortable distance by moving towards the carer. Bowlby

suggests that a similar stimulus for activation may be the time elapsed away from

the carer.

Bowlby lists under the following three headings other conditions which

activate attachment behaviour and influence its intensity:

1. Condition of the child

fatigue

hunger

ill health

pain

cold

2. Whereabouts and behaviour of the mother

mother absent

mother departing

mother discouraging proximity

3. Other environmental conditions

occurrence of alarming events

rebuffs by other adults or children

Termination of attachment behaviour

Termination of attachment behaviour varies according to the intensity of the

activation. Following intense activation, possibly only physical contact with the

carer will terminate the attachment behaviour, with much crying and clinging.

Low level activation, however, in response to slight fear or discomfort, may be

terminated by the child simply checking the whereabouts of the carer.

The development of attachment There are four phases in the development of attachment. The boundaries

between the phases are not clear-cut.

18 Understanding Attachment and Attachment Disorders

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Phase 1

Orientation and signals without discrimination of figure (Bowlby)

Initial pre-attachment (Ainsworth)

This phase spans from birth to not less than 8 weeks of age. During this period

the infant uses behaviours designed to attract and respond to the attention of

caregivers. Behaviours such as grasping, smiling, babbling or crying are

directed at anyone in the baby’s vicinity. Studies have shown, however, that

already during this phase infants are learning to discriminate between adults.

Phase 2

Orientation and signals directed towards one (or more) discriminated figure(s) (Bowlby)

Attachment-in-the-making (Ainsworth)

Typically, the second phase occurs from 8 weeks to approximately 6 months of

age. With the development of improved vision and audition, the infant increas-

ingly discriminates between familiar and unfamiliar adults and becomes partic-

ularly responsive towards his or her carer.

Phase 3

Maintenance of proximity to a discriminated figure by means of locomotion as well as

signals (Bowlby)

Clear-cut attachment (Ainsworth)

This phase typically begins between 6 and 7 months but may be delayed until

after one year of age. Bowlby suggests that this phase probably continues

throughout the second and into the third year. This is a crucial phase of consoli-

dation and has three components.

First, during this phase the child’s behaviour to his mother becomes organ-

ised on a goal-corrected basis, ‘and then his attachment to his mother-figure is

evident for all to see’ (Bowlby 1969, p.267). ‘Thenceforward, it seems, he dis-

covers what the conditions are that terminate his distress and that make him feel

secure; and from that phase onward he begins to be able to plan his behaviour so

that these conditions are achieved’ (p.351). Second, the infant increasingly dis-

criminates between adults. Third, with the development of locomotion, the

infant begins to use his carer as a base and to explore.

Phase 4

Formation of goal-corrected partnership (Bowlby and Ainsworth)

Typically this phase does not begin until the second year and, for many

children, not until near or after the third year. The central feature of this fourth

What is Attachment? 19

un de r U. S. o r ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

and final phase is the child’s ‘lessening of egocentricity’ (Ainsworth et al. 1978,

p.28). The child begins to see his mother-figure as an independent person with

her own set-goals. This lays the foundation for a more complex mother–child

relationship, which Bowlby terms a ‘partnership’.

Attachment throughout the lifespan

Whilst Bowlby recognised that attachment behaviour continues throughout the

lifespan, he did not consider that attachment behaviour in later childhood and

adulthood was characterised by processes significantly different from those

operating in Phase 4. After three years of age, attachment behaviour is less

frequent and urgent, as the maturing child feels threatened less frequently, but it

continues as ‘a dominant strand’ (Bowlby 1969, p.207) in the child’s life.

During adolescence the child’s attachment to his parents typically begins to be

superseded by ties to others, usually the child’s peers. In adulthood, the attach-

ment bond and behaviour is usually directed at partners or close friends. Finally,

in old age, attachment behaviour often comes full circle and is directed from the

old to the young, from the parents to the offspring.

A note about dependency

Bowlby and Ainsworth were repeatedly concerned to point out the differences

between attachment and dependency (e.g. Bowlby 1969, 1988; Ainsworth

1969a; Ainsworth et al. 1978). That the two are not synonymous is evidenced

by the following:

• During the first weeks of life an infant is dependent on his parent(s) but not yet attached.

• An older child in the care of others may not be dependent on his parent(s) but is likely to remain attached to them.

• Dependency in older children and adults is usually viewed as problematic, a condition or trait to be ‘grown out of’. Mistaking attachment behaviour for dependency in older children or adults, such that the attachment behaviour may be ‘dubbed regressive’, Bowlby considered an ‘appalling misjudgement’ (1988, p.12).

• A secure attachment, i.e. having confidence in the availability of one’s base, is associated with exploration and independence rather than dependence.

20 Understanding Attachment and Attachment Disorders

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Internal working models of attachment representations Bowlby postulated that the child constructs internal working models for each

attachment figure on the basis of attachment–caregiving experiences with that

person. Internal working models are predictions which the child develops about

him- or herself, others, and the response of significant others to his or her

attachment needs. Bowlby likened internal working models to cognitive maps, a

map being a ‘coded representation of selected aspects of whatever is mapped’

(Bowlby 1969, p.80). A map, however, as Bowlby points out, is a static repre-

sentation. Working models, on the other hand, enable the individual to

‘conduct…small-scale experiments within the head’ (p.81). Working models

comprise two parts, an environmental model, based on accumulated experience,

and an organismic model, based on self-knowledge of one’s skills and potential-

ities.

To be useful, Bowlby states, both working models must be kept up to date.

However, the extent to which internal working models can change remains a

central question. Although models are influenced by new experience, the inte-

gration of the new experience is shaped by the existing model. ‘Hence the

effects of early experience are carried forward in these models, even as they

undergo change’ (Goldberg 2000, p.9). A second difficulty is that unconscious

aspects of internal working models are likely to be particularly resistant to

change. ‘Clinical evidence suggests that the necessary revisions of model are not

always easy to achieve. Usually they are completed but only slowly, often they

are done imperfectly, and sometimes done not at all’ (Bowlby 1969, p.82).

Bowlby implies rather than states that revision of models is best done by

subjecting the model ‘to whatever special benefits accrue from becoming con-

scious’ (Bowlby 1969, p.83).

Interplay between attachment and other behavioural systems A complex interplay operates between the attachment behavioural system and

other biologically based behavioural systems. An example of behaviour which

serves more than one behavioural system is sucking, which serves both the food

seeking and attachment behavioural systems. Bowlby distinguishes nutritional

and non-nutritional sucking. Infants spend far more time in non-nutritional

sucking, of a nipple or nipple-like object, than in nutritional sucking. Moreover,

infants especially engage in non-nutritional sucking when they are alarmed or

upset. Thus, non-nutritional sucking is an activity in its own right and ‘in man’s

environment of evolutionary adaptedness, non-nutritional sucking is an integral

What is Attachment? 21

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part of attachment behaviour and has proximity to mother as a predictable

outcome’ (Bowlby 1969, p.250).

The exploratory behavioural system and the secure base Exploratory behaviour is the antithesis of attachment behaviour because it

usually takes the child away from his or her attachment figure. For this reason,

attachment is often assessed in relation to exploration, the object of interest

being the child’s behaviour when both systems are activated. Ainsworth’s early

work in Uganda (Ainsworth 1963, 1967) found that infant exploration was

greater when the mother was present and diminished in her absence. This was

anticipated, as attachment behaviour is strongly activated when the attachment

figure is inaccessible and/or unresponsive. With the attachment figure present,

the attachment system is relaxed and exploration can occur. Attachment and

exploration are thus often in a state of balance or tension. Ainsworth’s careful

observations confirmed that infants use their attachment figure as a secure base

from which to explore.

Bowlby viewed the provision of a secure base as a central feature of his

concept of parenting. A secure base is described as a base

from which a child or adolescent can make sorties into the outside world and to which he can return knowing for sure that he will be welcomed when he gets there, nourished physically and emotionally, comforted if distressed, reassured if frightened. In essence this role is one of being available, ready to respond when called upon to encourage and perhaps assist, but to intervene actively only when clearly necessary. (Bowlby 1988, p.11)

Thus, at the heart of attachment theory is the notion that exploration and

autonomy are fostered by responding to the child’s proximity-seeking attachment

behaviour rather than resisting it; that is, the granting of proximity promotes

autonomy rather than inhibits it. Daring to ‘press forward and take risks’

(Bowlby 1988, p.11) requires confidence in the security of one’s base.

A safe or secure haven Ainsworth et al. (1978) describe some infants in the strange situation (described

in Chapter 8) who were so alarmed by the entrance of the stranger that strong

attachment behaviour was activated. These infants behaved in a way described

by the authors as ‘retreat to the mother’, moving into close proximity to or actual

contact with her. On reaching the mother, the infant’s intention seemed not to

22 Understanding Attachment and Attachment Disorders

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interact with her, but to turn back to or even smile at the stranger ‘from the

secure haven provided by the mother’ (p.264). Although nearly all the children

showed some wary behaviour, not all approached their mothers; for many the

mere presence of the mother in the same room provided a safe or secure haven.

Ainsworth et al. acknowledge that the concept of a mother as a secure haven

is similar to the concept of her as a secure base. Nevertheless, they believe that

retaining the distinction is desirable. When the child uses the attachment figure

as a secure base from which to explore, wariness or fear is not implied. However,

when the infant seeks proximity to his mother as a secure haven, the implication

is that he is to some extent alarmed. Once his alarm is moderated by proximity,

he may explore again. In this way, ‘the attachment figure shifts from being a

secure haven to being a secure base from which to explore’ (Ainsworth et al.

1978, p.265).

Summary Attachment behaviour was defined by John Bowlby as a biological instinct in

which proximity to an attachment figure is sought when the child senses or per-

ceives threat or discomfort. Attachment behaviour anticipates a response by the

attachment figure which will remove the threat or discomfort. Selective attach-

ments develop in the first year of life, proceeding through several stages. Mental

representations of the infant-child and their human environment are formed on

the basis of early attachment experiences. They were termed by Bowlby ‘inter-

nal working models’ to denote the possibility of updating these representations.

The role of the attachment figure is to provide a secure base from which the

child can explore, and a safe haven to which to retreat when threatened.

Notes

1 For a discussion of this point, see Belsky, Chapter 7 in the Handbook of Attachment (1999).

2 For a description of the place of attachment theory in the hierarchy of evolutionary theories, see Simpson, Chapter 6 in the Handbook of Attachment (1999).

What is Attachment? 23

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