According to Feldman (2008), the emotional bond that develops between a child and a certain individual is referred to as attachment. In nonhumans, this process begins in the first days of life with “imprinting,” which is essentially the infant’s readiness to learn (Lorenz, 1957, as cited in Feldman, 2008, p.89).
The bond is facilitated by mother-child physical contact during imprinting. A similar phenomenon is observed between human mothers and their newborns, which is why mother’s are strongly encouraged to hold and nurse (or bottle-feed) their children as soon as possible after birth. The feeding is important, but also important for social-emotional health is the satisfying of the need for that sense of connection and safety gained from holding the infant with gentle firmness against the bosom.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs asserts that biological needs (i.e. food, water, etc.) are primary needs, while safety is secondary (Maslow, 2005).
According to Bowlby (1951, as cited in Feldman, 2008, p. 191), attachment is based on a need for safety and security. So, impulsively, it would seem that the provision of physiological needs has little to do with the developing emotional bonds (attachment).
However, one cold argue that biological needs fall under the term “safety and security.” If so, Bowlby’s assertion holds more truth: “As they develop, infants come to learn that their safety is best provided by a particular individual.” This is reiterated in Pittman, et al (2011), which indicates that the infant develops a sense of “having a secure base for exploration, nurturance, and succorance, and of having confidence in the adequacy and predictability of nurturance and support.” The infant comes to learn that the caregiver can be trusted to provide what he or she needs. This is similar to Erikson’s first psychosocial stage of crisis – Trust versus Mistrust.
The Term Paper on Child’s Relationships Based on Attachment to Mother
"A child's future relationships are almost entirely determined by the quality of attachment to the mother." Discuss, referring to relevant empirical evidence.The primal importance of a child's bond to its mother has always been recognised, and is a topic that has fascinated people for thousands of years. Playwrights from Sophocles to the modern day have explored this, and in more recent times ...
Erikson argued that during the first 18-months of life (about the same age as the children used in the Ainsworth Strange Situation study of 1978), infants subconsciously evaluate “how well their needs are met by caregivers (Feldman, 2008, p. 200).” If the caregiver(s) have fulfilled their parenting role, and earned the trust of their child as providers, then the child has resolved the “trust-mistrust” conflict, and is better prepared for the demands of the next stage – “autonomy versus shame and doubt (Feldman, 2008, p. 17).” Erikson’s concept of the autonomy-shame and doubt conflict “parallels notions of confidence in exploration from the Bowlby-Ainsworth theory (Pittman, et al, 2011).
[Note: Bowlby-Ainsworth Theory is referring to Bowlby’s formulation of attachment theory and Ainsworth’s derivation of attachment types.] As stated by Pittman, et al (2011) both Erikson and Bowlby-Ainsworth assert that once a child has established this trust or sense of safety and security with the caregiver, they can have confidence in “the world as a place that they can safely explore, and in their own abilities to explore it.”
It appears that the works of Ainsworth, Bowlby, Erikson, and Lorenz agree that the very first bond established between newborn and caregiver sets the foundation for how that child perceives the world and self, and subsequently, the quality of future relationships.
References
Feldman, R. S. (2008).
Social and Personality Development in Infancy. Development Across the Life Span, Fifth Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Maslow, Abraham H. (2005).
In K. Krapp (Ed.), Psychologists and Their Theories for Students (Vol. 2, pp. 303-324).
Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3456300032&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w
The Term Paper on Bowlby’s Ethological Attachment Theory
Abstract Bowlby’s ethological attachment theory bases its argument on the premise that human individuals, just like animals have a tendency to have a natural inclination to establish and maintain lasting affectionate bonds (attachments) to the familiar and irreplaceable others. Bowlby further asserts that once the attachments are established, the strength, and stability of the links is related the ...
Pittman, J. F., Keiley, M. K., Kerpelman, J. L., & Vaughn, B. E. (2011).
Attachment, Identity, and Intimacy: Parallels Between Bowlby’s and Erikson’s Paradigms. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 3, 32-46
