Margaret Mahler Attachment Theory

Front 1

infant focused on self

not capable of investing on others or responsive to external stimuli.

Back 1

Autistic - Newborn to 1 month

Front 2

Breaks out of Autistic Shell (no longer in their own world)

infant feels unity with mother and begins to understand mother as seperate being

Back 2

Symbiotic stage - 1 to 5 months

Front 3

Begins individuation stage

Attention shifts from inward to outward focus

infant begins to seperate from caregiver by crawling (using motor skills)

Back 3

Differentiation - 6 to 9 months

Front 4

Begins individuation stage

Baby crawls and walks freely, explores actively and becomes distant from mother

Back 4

Practicing 9 to 14 months

Front 5

Begins individuation stage

Desires to be independent

Moves away from the mother but returns to ensure she is still there

Back 5

Rapproachment 14 to 24 months

Front 6

Begins individuation stage

Capacity to recall the mother despite her absence

child see's its mother as a seperate individual from themselves

Back 6

Object Constancy after 24 months