I found the findings intriguing when British psychologist John Bowlby questioned what would happen when a young child’s rudimentary needs were met, but did not receive emotional attention? For example, he studied the WWII orphans whose basic needs were met, yet, they did not have the chance to develop the interpersonal relationship (he named this attachment), that should ideally occur between an infant and mother, and his results found they later exhibited behaviors associated with psychological disorders. Harry Harlow is famous for his ‘wire monkeys’ series of experiments that he performed in the 1950’s. This experiment is salient to me because it shows just how powerful a sense of comfort truly is. I found it amazing that the monkeys
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Furthermore, Mary Ainsworth expanded on Bowlby’s findings of patterns of attachment behaviors, such as distress when the mother or caregiver leaves, smiling when she returns, and distress when approached by a stranger unless pre-approved by mother, with her strange situation research. Originally, she discovered three patterns of attachment styles first of which is the secure attachment pattern characterized by active exploration, distress when the mother leaves, and displaying positive emotions upon her coming back respectively. The second style is the avoidant attachment pattern when the small child is more interested in toys than the mother, shows little distress when she leaves, and little positive emotion when she returns. The third style is the anxious/ambivalent attachment pattern is when the infant is preoccupied with the mother while she’s there, protests upon separation, only to show ambivalence or anger toward the mother when she returns. A forth style has been suggested by other researchers called the disorganized/controlling pattern which is simply when the child shows disruptions in processing during a strange situation. In conclusion, I absolutely feel that it’s crucial for an infant to feel safe and secure, developing the innate bond to the mother or caregiver is advantageous to the child in early life for many reasons physically and
Furthermore, Mary Ainsworth expanded on Bowlby’s findings of patterns of attachment behaviors, such as distress when the mother or caregiver leaves, smiling when she returns, and distress when approached by a stranger unless pre-approved by mother, with her strange situation research. Originally, she discovered three patterns of attachment styles first of which is the secure attachment pattern characterized by active exploration, distress when the mother leaves, and displaying positive emotions upon her coming back respectively. The second style is the avoidant attachment pattern when the small child is more interested in toys than the mother, shows little distress when she leaves, and little positive emotion when she returns. The third style is the anxious/ambivalent attachment pattern is when the infant is preoccupied with the mother while she’s there, protests upon separation, only to show ambivalence or anger toward the mother when she returns. A forth style has been suggested by other researchers called the disorganized/controlling pattern which is simply when the child shows disruptions in processing during a strange situation. In conclusion, I absolutely feel that it’s crucial for an infant to feel safe and secure, developing the innate bond to the mother or caregiver is advantageous to the child in early life for many reasons physically and