Essay about The Attachment Theory

In phase 4 a partnership starts to occur between the child and their caregiver, and the child will start to accommodate to the mother’s needs. Phase 5 suggests that when the child is of school age they will start to show affection, trust and approval within the relationship with the caregiver. Ainsworth’s research looked at Bowlby’s and expanded it. In her study called the strange situation (Ainsworth, 1978), she revealed profound effects of attachment on behaviour. The study observed children between the age of 12 and 18 months old, as they responded to a situation where they were left alone for a brief amount of time and then they were reunited with their mothers. The study involved seven short episodes that took place in a small room. The episodes were the mother and infant were in the room, the infant will explore the room for 3 minutes, and the stranger then enters the room and sits with the mother for 1 minute, and then starts to play with the infant. The mother then leaves the room and the stranger continues to play with the infant, the mother then returns and the stranger leaves the room. The mother then tries to settle the infant as it is probably distressed, and then sits down for 3 minutes. The mother then leaves the room and the child is left alone, the stranger then enters the room and tries to settle the infant. The mother then re-enters the room and the stranger quickly leaves. Ainsworth described three major attachment types