Term Paper on "Theory"

Term Paper 8 pages (2202 words) Sources: 8 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Theory

The objective of this work is to review the history, ideology and practice application of 'Attachment Theory' and will do so through a review of the literature in this area of study.

Attachment theory was first conceived by Dr. John Bowlby born in 1907 and developed over time from the decade of the 1950s until the decade of the 1980s. (Tuovila, 2007; paraphrased) Many studies have focused on understanding attachment theory and the work of Tirjo Tuovila, a development psychologist in the work entitled: "What Are Fathers for? Attachment Theory and the Significance of Father" (2007) states that this is "one of the most extensively research psychological theories." (Tuovila, 2007; p.1) Attachment theory is "a theory about adapting to danger: How can children survive in traumatic and damaging circumstances, and what kind of models and structure of attachment do they develop, when their parents offer them mainly insecurity and frightening experiences."(Tuovila, 2007; p.1)

I. HISTORY of ATTACHMENT THEORY

Attachment theory historically focused on the attachment between a child and its mother however, findings in Tuovila's work states that the attachment relationship between the child and father is one of great importance as well as the attachment relationship between child and mother. The work of Jessica L. Borealli and Daryn H. David (2004) entitled: "Imagination, Cognition and Personality" published in the Baywood Scholarly and Scientific Content journal examines the theory and research and their links on the relationships of attachment theory as well as structural cognition which is inclusive of "schemas and internal working models; aspects of the client-therapist relationship; and psychotherapeutic intervention models arguing that attachment theory can be employed to more fully understand psychotherapeutic processes and change." (Borelli and David, 2004) Borelli and David state of attachment theory that it "offers a broad an far reaching view of human functioning and has the potential to change the ay clinicians think about and respond to their patients, and the potential to change the way clinicians think about and respond to their patients, and the way they understand the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship." (2007)

Fraley (2004) states that Bowlby drew upon the ethological theory and "postulated that these attachments behaviors, such as crying and searching, were adaptive responses to separation from a primary attachment figure." (Fraley, 2004) it was the theory of Bowlby that the human infant who is able to maintain."..proximity to an attachment figure would be more likely to survive to a reproductive age." The importance of the attachment behavior system lies in the provision this theory makes of the "conceptual linkage between ethological models of human development and modern theories on emotion, regulation and personality." (Fraley, 2004) Attachment theory states that when a child feels they are "loved, secure and confident, and behaviorally is likely to explore his of her environment, play with others and be sociable. If however, the child perceives the answer to this question to be 'no' the child experiences anxiety and behaviorally, is likely to exhibit attachment behaviors ranging from simple visual searching on the low extreme to active following and vocal signaling on the other." (Fraley, 2004) These behaviors are stated by Fraley to "continues until the child is able to reestablish a desirable level of physical or psychological proximity to the attachment figure, or until the child 'wears down' and experiences "despair and depression" (Fraley, 2004) according to Bowlby's attachment theory. The following figure illustrates Bowlby's conception of attachment theory.

Bowlby's Conception of Attachment Theory

Source: Fraley (2004)

It was acknowledged in the work of Bowlby that individual differences exist in the manner in which children "appraised the accessibility of the attachments figure and how they regulate their attachment behavior in response to a threat."(Fraley, 2004) Ainsworth systematically studied infant-parent separations and articulated these individual differences. A paradigm for laboratory study of the infant-parent attachment was developed by Ainsworth and students which was termed a "strange-situation" (Fraley, 2004) the work of Ainsworth is stated to have been important for three reasons:

1) Ainsworth made provision of one of the first "empirical demonstrations of how attachment behavior is patterned in both safe and frightening contexts;

2) Ainsworth provided the first empirical taxonomy of individual differences in infant attachment patterns; and as well established that three types of children exist which are those who:

a) are secure in their relationship with their parents;

b) children who are anxious resistant; and those who are anxious-avoidant; and 3) Ainsworth demonstrated that these individual differences were correlated with infant-parent interactions in the home during the first year of life. (Fraley, 2004)

II. IDEOLOGY of ATTACHMENT THEORY

The work of Robert a. Levine (2002) entitled: "Attachment Research as an Ideological Movement: Preliminary Statement" relates that childcare history both in America and Europe over the last one and one-half centuries may be separated into three different, yet "overlapping period." Those three periods include those as follows:

1850-1950: Public concern rose during this time for "children and the formation of public policies governing childhood." (Levine, 2002) From this view children were "innocent victims of exploitation, and political agitation" and this was further given weight by "literary and journalistic representation" which ultimately resulted in the replacement of child labor by compulsory primary schooling." (Levin, 2002)

1900-1950: This period witnessed what is termed the 'medicalization of children' by Levine (2002) and had as its focus the saving [of] lives of children and conditions relating to sanitization through processes of pasteurization and purification so as to prevent infections. Ultimately, these processes did result in a drop in infant mortality rates...' (Levine, 2002) it is in the period that public health nurses and doctors "were established as scientific experts in the care of children and spread a gospel of preventive medicine and nutrition, combined with strict scheduling and discipline in the treatment of young children."

1950 to present: Levine states that this period was representative of a view he terms the "gospel of preventative medicine through hygiene was superseded by mental health ideology that shifted the focus to children's emotional development. " (2002) According to Levine, within the framework of this ideology, the concept of mental illness was "broadened far beyond major cognitive and affective disorders to include neurotic conditions, anxieties and eccentricities and transient maladjustments." (2002)

III. PRACTICE APPLICATION of ATTACHMENT THEORY

The primary focus of Bowlby was on the parent-infant relationships the belief of Bowlby was that "attachment characterized human experience from 'the cradle to the grave.' (Fraley, 2004) Finally in the middle of the 1980s Bowlby's research was given serious consideration of the possibility "that attachment processes; may play out in adulthood." (Fraley, 2004) the work of Hazen and Shaver holds that attachment between infants and caregivers and adults who are romantic partners have similar features which they share which include those as follows:

Both feel safe the other is nearby and responsive;

Both engage in close, intimate, bodily contact;

Both feel insecure when the other is accessible;

Both share discoveries with one another;

Both play with one another's facial features and exhibit a mutual fascination and preoccupation with one another; and Both engage in 'baby' talk. (Fraley, 2004)

Fraley states 'three implications of adult attachment theory: (1) if adult romantic relationships are attachment relationship, then we should observe the same kinds of individual differences in adult relationships that Ainsworth observed in infant-caregiver relationships; (2) if adult romantic relationships are attachment relationships, then the way adult relationships 'work' should be similar to the way infant-caregiver relationships work should be similar to the way infant-caregiver relationships work; (3) whether an adult is secure or insecure in his or her adult relationships may be a partial reflection of his or her attachments experiences in early childhood. (Fraley, 2004) Fraley states that the study in earlier examination of adult attachment "involved studying the association between individual differences in adult attachment and the way people think about their relationships and their memories for what their relationships with their parents are like." (Fraley, 2004) the work of Hazan and Sahver (1987) designed a questionnaire that while simple in nature is effective in measuring these individual differences." (Fraley, 2004) the individual differences which are termed 'attachment styles'; 'attachment patterns'; 'attachment orientations'; or 'differences in the organization of the attachments system'." (Fraley, 2004)the study conducted by Hazan and Shaver was of the nature that participants in the study were asked to read three paragraphs and indicate which paragraph provided the most accurate characteristics of how they 'think, feel, and behave' in relationships that are close in nature. The following three paragraphs were those utilized in the study of Hazan and Shaver (1987):

1) I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others; I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, others want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being;

2) I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don't… READ MORE

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