The theories of attachment examine the process of physically or figuratively becoming attached. Attachment describes a bond formed between people especially for long term relationships for example between children and their mothers. This paper presents the key tenets of Bowlby and Ainsworth attachment theories while comparing and their views.
As previously stated, attachment in an emotion bond between people. The initial attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby who suggested four characteristics of attachment. The views were developed from the observation he made in children between the ages 6 months and 2 years of age. His observation was that, the quality of attachment that children develop during the mentioned period in life, eventually affects the quality of relationships that they will have in the future (Andreas, 2014) . In other words, the quality of the attachment is the blueprint to their lifetime relationships. The characteristics developed by a child in early childhood lives with them into their adulthood (Jeffry, 1997) . It’s important to note that, Mary during her initial studies worked together with Bowlby and therefore the two theories share a lot in common (Susan, 2000) . Mary increased the scope of Bowlby’s theory by introducing a fourth being and discussing three extra characteristics of attachment. According to her, the attachment developed between an infant and the caregiver is induced by activities such as being responsive to their needs and giving them security (Jeremy, 1993) . Both Bowlby and Mary agree that the moment an infant acquires a sense of security from their caregiver, they become ready to explore other areas of relationship.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Both Bowlby and Mary define attachment in two broad bases: affectionate regard and fidelity. A child only becomes secure in an environment which is dependable. A dependable environment is that which the caregiver is always attentive to the infant’s needs (Jeffry, 1997) . This kind of positive and supportive attachment is a template for subsequent relationships. Therefore, according to Mary and Bowlby, the primary relationship is the attachment between the infant and the caregiver which when established allows the child to explore new relationships (Susan, 2000) .
Both John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth derive their views and tenets from psychoanalytical and developmental psychological principles. Bowlby is credited for forming the foundation of attachment theories while Mary is credited for expounding the scope of Bowlby original ideas (Andreas, 2014) . Bowlby believes that attachment is evolutionary and is brought about by the continuous closeness of an infant to the caregiver. He proposes that infants are inherently programmed to form attachments while on the other hands, caregivers are inherently programmed to accord the love (Jeremy, 1993) . This kind of bond is powerful and helpful in nature and takes place when a child is between the ages 6 months and two years. Mary Ainsworth on the other hand broadens the scope of Bowlby theory by assessing the “strange situation” experiments. Here, she assesses through experimentation the behavior of kids when playing in a room and guardians and strangers are allowed in for some time and then exits (Andreas, 2014) . She analyzes the phenomenon of familiarity of children with people which affects the fluctuation in a child’s emotion. She suggests that, when a child is with a stranger, an unfamiliar situation arises which causes tress (Jeffry, 1997) . However, when the child’s caregiver comes into the room, a familiar situation arises which results to calming down of emotions. A child can categorize an individual in three diverse ways which according to Mary are known as major styles of attachment. The categorization is; secure attachment which occurs when a familiar situation presents itself, avoidant-insecure attachment which occurs when an unfamiliar situation presents itself and ambivalent insecure attachment which is a situation of alternate opposing opinion then the opposite (Susan, 2000) .
Bowlby explains four characteristics of attachment. These attributes basically refer to the ways in which children react to different situations depending on their familiarity. The first one is proximity maintenance which is the closeness between the caregiver and the child. Based on this characteristic, behaviors such as crying, smiling and clinging evolve. Being close to the child increases the attachment bond (Jeremy, 1993) . The second one is known as safe haven. This describes the frequency of maintaining a closer proximity to the child (Susan, 2000) . It ensures a constant and responsive presence. The other two characteristics are secure base and separation distress. When a child feels unsafe, it will run to the caregiver. This is what is referred to as secure base while when separated from the caregiver, the situation that arises is called the separation distress (Jeffry, 1997) . Both John and Mary agree that when a child is separated from the caregiver, a situation of separation distress arises.
Bowlby and Mary’s theories have a lot in common. Bowlby is the father of attachment theory while Mary is credited for broadening the scope of Bowlby’s work. Attachment is evolutionary and takes place due to repetitive behavior.
References
Andreas, K. (2014). Attachment theory according to John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. GRIN Publishers.
Jeffry, A. S. (1997). Attachment theory and close relationships. The Guilford Press.
Jeremy, H. (1993). John Bowlby and attachment theory (makers of modern psychotherapy). Routledge.
Susan, G. (2000). Attachment theory: social, developmental, and clinical perspectives. The analytic press.
