Attachment Theory Essays (Examples)

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Anxious / ambivalent adults often worry that their partner doesn't really love them or won't want to stay with them. Anxious / ambivalent adults want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away." (Hazen 1987-page 512).
In 1990 another researcher also developed models that portrayed the attachment theories. These models were based on studies conducted to discover how we coped as adults and were based on whether we were secure or avoidant personalities (see figure 1)

These attachment theories and models are primarily based on how we as individuals are treated, and how we attach ourselves to others as infants and throughout our respective childhoods.

In 1969 Travis Hirschi presented four social bonds which promote socialization and conformity. These include attachment, commitment, involvement and belief." (Hirschi's Social Theory). Hirschi said that the attachment process was only part of the development we as humans go through. He claimed….

Theory
How the attachment theory accounts for differences in the development of social relationships in aging adults?

The attachment theory is one of the common theories in the specification of child development and growth in the world. Indeed, several influencing factors are concerned with the generation and establishment of the relationship that exists between parents and their children in the society. According to psychological understandings and studies in the world, there is a common feature of child growth and development that can be developed within the parameters of assumption and specification. For instance, it becomes very possible to have children growing and developing within the parameters and precepts set by their parents or caregivers. The attitudes and treatments from the caregiver appear to have innate influence on the general growth and development of the child (Sigelman & ider, 2011).

According to the growth and development of the attachment theory, children are part….

Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010.
Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010).

Statement of the Problem

For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), ith the Ne England Bureau, reports in the journal article, "Navigating adolescent grief," that Erik H. Erikson created a seminal model of psychosocial development that classified adolescent years as a time period hen teens form their personality. These trying teen times typically may be defined by the opposing extremes of integration and separation. Mahoney (2008) asserts that as adolescents struggle to belong and strive to be accepted by others, particularly their peers; they simultaneously struggle to become individuals. For the adolescent to….

Theory
Attachment is defined as a deep and enduring emotional bond usually that links an individual to another across space and time. Attachment is at times not reciprocal, in other words it may not be shared between the two. Attachment is characterized especially in children by specific behaviour, whereby a child seeks proximity with the individual to whom they are attached when they are threatened or upset (McLeod, 2009). Attachment-linked behaviour in parents towards their children encompasses responding appropriately and sensitively to the needs of their children. Such behaviour is seemingly universal across different cultures. Attachment theory offers an explanation of the manner in which the relationship between the parent and the child emerges and how it impacts subsequent development (McLeod, 2009; Bretherton, 1992).

Attachment theory is the field of psychology emerged from the influential work of John Bowlby in 1958. In the 1930's, Dr. Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist at….


Mary Ainsworth, conveyed Bowlby's theory to the United States and came up with a technique of examining infant attachment. In her book, she talks about this extensively utilized procedure, the bizarre condition, and the outlines of protected and apprehensive attachment. In the beginning three outlines were looked at, protected, nervous avoidant, and nervous ambivalent, but later on Mary Main and Judith Solomon at the University of California in Berkeley came up with a fourth category, disordered. The anxious-avoidant and disordered kinds wanted attachment but had anxiety as a result of attachment. In addition, both had apprehension at the departure of the mother and were hard to pacify upon reunion. The disordered children were predominantly unsure upon reuniting with their attachment figure, both seeking out and staying away from contact. Bowlby portrayed these children as moving away crossly while at the same time seeking nearness when reunited with their mothers. Even….

Clinical Interventions With Families- Critical Family Transition Paper
Family Identity

An individual's family of origin denotes the family he/she was raised in, as against the persons he/she resides with at present; it represents the place where individuals, normally, are trained to become what they currently are (i.e., where their adulthood identity is developed). It is an individual's biological/adoptive family that teaches one how he/she must process emotions, communicate with others, and have one's needs fulfilled. People's families also inculcate in them several beliefs and values. Those encountering emotional concerns, in connection with their family, might find meeting with an expert for the purpose of beginning to resolve these issues, beneficial (Family of Origin Issues, 2015). Formation of identity constitutes a normative adolescent developmental task; researchers observe that, for youth hailing from ethnic minorities, one significant developmental task is formation of ethnic identity. There is a positive relationship of ethnic identity with….

Early Attachment and DevelopmentBowlbys Attachment Theory holds that emotional attachment in infants occurs in their first year of development and is observed with their mother, father, or primary caregiver. Bowlby argues that it is associated with the attachment behaviors, such as sucking, crying, following, smiling, and clinging, as a means to protect themselves and increase the childs chances of survival and adults inclined to respond to these signals. According to Bowlby, there are four attachment phases: the pre-attachment phase, attachment in making, clear-cut attachment phase, and formation of a reciprocal relationship (Sullivan et al., 2011). The pre-attachment phase occurs from inception through the first two months of life. During the first months, the infants are inherently interested in and are responsive to engagement by anyone provided by anyone besides their primary caregiver since they do not have a fear of strangers. Caregivers responded to the innate signals of the child,….

S., experts estimate the genuine number of incidents of abuse and neglect ranges three times higher than reported. (National Child Abuse Statistics, 2006) in light of these critical contemporary concerns for youth, this researcher chose to document the application of Object elation, Attachment Theories, and Self-Psychology to clinical practice, specifically focusing on a patient who experienced abuse when a child. Consequently, this researcher contends this clinical case study dissertation proves to be vital venture, which will contribute to enhancing research in the field of psychology.
For this clinical case study dissertation exploring Object elation, Attachment Theories, and Self-Psychology, along with researching information for the application of these theories to clinical practice, this researcher answered the following research questions.

esearch Questions

What is Winnicott's elational Model Theory?

What is Bowlby's Attachment Theory?

What is Kohut's Self-Psychology?

How may components of these three theories be applied to the clinical case chosen for this clinical case study dissertation's focus?

Enhancing….


c. Other theorists (Modern Attachment Theories)

Upon the establishment and strengthening of Bowlby and Ainsworth's Attachment Theory, other theorists have developed new studies which either tested the theory or sought to apply it in different contexts or scenarios. Inevitably, most scenarios and contexts that new theorists and psychology researchers took is the path to explaining grief and bereavement. Others, however, have centered on specific aspects of the theory and sought to expound and/or test it, as Ainsworth did when Bowlby was still in the process of strengthening his attachment theory.

One such study was conducted by Schore and Schore (2008), which explored the emotion regulation aspect of the theory. In their study, the authors realized the potential of attachment theory in developing a "therapeutic intervention" from which coping on the loss of the attachment figure would be a healthier process for the individual. The authors shifted from the issue of attachment to….

Lee, (2003).
Lee (2003) says that insecure attachments have been linked to psychiatric disorders to which the children are exposed to after the loss of the attachment figure. These children will form inability to form secure attachments, react with hostility and rejection to their environment according to Pickover, (2002). This is a phenomenon found among many immigrant children, especially who had the attachment figure back in their country of origin and yet they remained there. They tend to have a problem re-attaching themselves to any other person, hence may grow up to be violent and develop criminal trends Pickover, (2002).

Shortfalls of the attachment theory

The idea that the parents shape the personality and character is misplaced and instead it is the peers who influence character and behavior of the child. According to Harris (1998:Pp2) "parents do not shape their child's personality or character. A child's peers have more influence on them….

I often worry that my partner doesn't really love me or won't want to stay with me. I want to get very close to my partner, and this sometimes scares people away. (Fraley, 2004)
Fraley relates that it was found in the study of Hazan and Shaver "...based on this three-category measure...that the distribution of categories was similar to that observed in infancy. In other words, about 60% of adults classified themselves as secure; about 20% described themselves as avoidant; and about 20% described themselves as anxious-resistant." (2004) While measurement in this manner was "a useful way to study the association between attachment styles and relationship functioning, it didn't allow a full test of the hypothesis in the same kinds of individual differences observed in infants might be manifest among adults." (Fraley, 2004) Fraley states that the findings of rennan "suggested that there are two fundamental dimensions with respect to….


Kellogg & Young in Schema Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder offer a comprehensive explanation of the use of Schema Therapy for patients with BPD, by first explaining the disorder and how it is particularly prime for the use of schema therapy as the disorder itself and the behavior and emotions exhibited from it can be seen as an individual traversing through a short list of schemas and are reflective of the childhood origins of BPD. The modes of BPD are described by the authors as consisting of the angry and impulsive child mode, the detached protector mode, the punitive parent mode and lastly the healthy adult mode. According to the authors if these modes are lacking in integration and emotions cannot be traversed across each, or if the modes are significantly unbalanced they become schemas that override normal adult behavior. The particulars of Schema Therapy are then described after a….

Theory
What are the major concepts of Ainsworth's theory?

Ainsworth's attachment theory is rooted in Bowlby's research on the bonds that develop between parent and child. Building on Bowlby's research, Ainsworth conducted a groundbreaking experiment known as the Strange Situation. esults of the Strange Situation experiment revealed three different categories of attachment styles. Ainsworth found secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment (Cherry, n.d.). Moreover, four categories of attachment style behaviors were observed. These four categories include separation anxiety, which refers to the emotional reaction to the caregiver leaving. The infant's willingness to explore in the caregiver's absence is another feature of attachment. Stranger anxiety refers to how the infant responds to strangers when the primary caregiver is absent. Finally, Ainsworth studied reunion behavior, which was how the child reacted to the return of the caregiver. Using these four parameters of attachment-related behaviors, Ainsworth developed the three primary attachment styles: secure….

theory: Its usefulness in the workplace today
Attachment theory has its origins in the study of animals. Watching geese 'imprint' upon the first living being they encounter after hatching or researchers observing how baby monkeys thrive when given terry cloth mothers, as opposed to wire mothers, are all examples of attachment theory in action. Attachment theory reinforces the psychodynamic notion that early experiences are seminal and seismic in shaping the human psyche and the way human beings relate to one another. As applied to humans, attachment theory suggests that parents who respond in a positive way to their infant's needs formulate the character of the child in such a way to enable him or her to feel secure in his or her relationships. In contrast, parents who create bonds of insecure attachment by being smothering or rejecting will foster behavioral patterns in their children that are negative, rather than positive.….

203). Others who lose a loved one they had cherished for many years may have a disposition "towards compulsive caregiving" (Bowlby, p. 206). The welfare of others is of prime concern for these individuals; instead of experiencing "sadness and welcoming support for themselves" after the death of a loved one or family member that has been loved for many years, these individuals "proclaim that it is someone else who is in distress and in need of the care which then insist on bestowing."
This compulsive caregiving often manifests itself with the selection of a handicapped person to become that person's caregiver. Imagine the daughter who since adolescence has idolized her father, and never left the home but rather attended college nearby to her parents' home. She never made a lot of close friends and preferred to be home with her dad especially. So when he died, according to Bowlby's compulsive….

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Children

Theories Comparing Ainsworth's Attachment Theory

Words: 1190
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Anxious / ambivalent adults often worry that their partner doesn't really love them or won't want to stay with them. Anxious / ambivalent adults want to merge completely…

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7 Pages
Research Paper

Sociology

Theory How the Attachment Theory Accounts for

Words: 2176
Length: 7 Pages
Type: Research Paper

Theory How the attachment theory accounts for differences in the development of social relationships in aging adults? The attachment theory is one of the common theories in the specification of…

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75 Pages
Term Paper

Children

Children Grief and Attachment Theory

Words: 22384
Length: 75 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For…

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7 Pages
Essay

Psychology

Child Attachment Theory and Its Analysis

Words: 2327
Length: 7 Pages
Type: Essay

Theory Attachment is defined as a deep and enduring emotional bond usually that links an individual to another across space and time. Attachment is at times not reciprocal, in…

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3 Pages
Essay

Children

Disorder Adult Attachment Theory Attachment

Words: 990
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Essay

Mary Ainsworth, conveyed Bowlby's theory to the United States and came up with a technique of examining infant attachment. In her book, she talks about this extensively utilized procedure,…

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8 Pages
Chapter

Communication - Language

Family Transition and Attachment Theory

Words: 2859
Length: 8 Pages
Type: Chapter

Clinical Interventions With Families- Critical Family Transition Paper Family Identity An individual's family of origin denotes the family he/she was raised in, as against the persons he/she resides with at…

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2 Pages
Research Paper

Child Care

Bowlby's Early Attachment and Development

Words: 691
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Research Paper

Early Attachment and DevelopmentBowlbys Attachment Theory holds that emotional attachment in infants occurs in their first year of development and is observed with their mother, father, or primary caregiver.…

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90 Pages
Dissertation

Children

Object Relation Attachment Theories And

Words: 26278
Length: 90 Pages
Type: Dissertation

S., experts estimate the genuine number of incidents of abuse and neglect ranges three times higher than reported. (National Child Abuse Statistics, 2006) in light of these critical contemporary…

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15 Pages
Chapter

Children

Theory -- Horotwitz & Bartholomew

Words: 4058
Length: 15 Pages
Type: Chapter

c. Other theorists (Modern Attachment Theories) Upon the establishment and strengthening of Bowlby and Ainsworth's Attachment Theory, other theorists have developed new studies which either tested the theory or sought…

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6 Pages
Essay

Children

Theory There Have Been Several

Words: 2479
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

Lee, (2003). Lee (2003) says that insecure attachments have been linked to psychiatric disorders to which the children are exposed to after the loss of the attachment figure. These…

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8 Pages
Term Paper

Children

Theory the Objective of This

Words: 2202
Length: 8 Pages
Type: Term Paper

I often worry that my partner doesn't really love me or won't want to stay with me. I want to get very close to my partner, and this…

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15 Pages
Research Proposal

Psychology

Theory Therapy Levy Meehan Kelly

Words: 4158
Length: 15 Pages
Type: Research Proposal

Kellogg & Young in Schema Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder offer a comprehensive explanation of the use of Schema Therapy for patients with BPD, by first explaining the disorder…

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5 Pages
Research Paper

Children

Theory What Are the Major Concepts of

Words: 1456
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Research Paper

Theory What are the major concepts of Ainsworth's theory? Ainsworth's attachment theory is rooted in Bowlby's research on the bonds that develop between parent and child. Building on Bowlby's research,…

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3 Pages
Term Paper

Children

Theory Its Usefulness in the Workplace Today

Words: 1362
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

theory: Its usefulness in the workplace today Attachment theory has its origins in the study of animals. Watching geese 'imprint' upon the first living being they encounter after hatching…

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10 Pages
Thesis

Children

Theories What Are the Explanations

Words: 3047
Length: 10 Pages
Type: Thesis

203). Others who lose a loved one they had cherished for many years may have a disposition "towards compulsive caregiving" (Bowlby, p. 206). The welfare of others is…

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