PSY123 Mind to World- Lifelong Formation of Relationships
Discuss the importance of early attachments for the lifelong formation of relationships.
It is interesting to observe how humans develop and learn to connect with other humans around them, without an ability to interact at a social level we are unable to function effectively in our society. The development of the cognitive abilities which facilitate this social interaction are arguably one of the more important aspects of this module. This essay asks you to look at the ways in which the development of our attachments as children impact on our connections with others later in life and allow us to function in a socially-oriented world. You will discuss how attachment develops, and how early attachments and relationship formation might impact on quality of attachment and the type of people we attach to as adults.
Answer
Many psychologists have argued that early attachments are having an impact on the later relationship that an individual forms. The emotional association that is formed in between the infant and their caregiver is the only way where the baby can get its basic needs met in their helpless state. This further becomes the motor for their following social, emotional as well as cognitive developments (Lamb, 2013). Therefore, attachment is a strong and enduring emotional relationship that binds one person with another. In this essay, the discussion will be on the importance of early attachments for the lifelong formation of relationships.
As stated in the continuity hypothesis that there exist uniformity between the early emotional attachments and the relationships that are formed later in a lifespan and it also observes that an individual’s attachment style in their childhood is reflected in their later relationships (Holmes, 2014). However, this idea is established upon the internal working model that has been proposed by Bowlby in his theory of monotropic. According to Bowlby, attachment is monotropic that means infants has an inborn tendency where they can form an attachment with a particular individual. Thus, the attachment that they form is strongest of all relationships and act as a model for their future relationships. The infant depending on this model will expect similar relationships with others in the future (Ludolph, 2012). Therefore, the idea of this internal working model is mainly a framework for the following relationships that is built upon the infant’s early attachments and effects the upcoming relationships in their lifespan. Many attachment theories are there which a child can develop in their infancy, as Ainsworth has divided these into secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant while; he was focusing with his ‘strange situation’ research. As found in Johnson’s book of 2014, it was seen that based on Ainsworth’s researches and the predictions of Bowlby, Hazan and Shaver built an experiment named ‘love quiz’ to investigate the notion that there is a consistency between the attachments build in early life with that of the romantic relationships that are formed in later life. The study came up with the result that those who have experienced secure attachment in their childhood inclined to have long lasting relationship formations throughout their lives whereas, those who have experienced insecure attachments are found to struggle with their adult relationships and more inclined to divorce and doubtful that whether love really exists or not. Therefore, this study highly supports that fact that early attachments play a vital role in the formation of relationships in the later life. However if the finding of Ainsworth’s research on attachment is to be considered then it can be said that his findings is similar with the association between the attachment style of adults and their remembrance of the parenting styles that they have received in their infancy. The outcome of Ainsworth’s research suggests that the attachment styles of the infants are very much associated with the degree of sensitivity manifested by their caregivers especially their mothers (Bowlby & Ainsworth, 2013).
The basis of an individual’s later life relationships and their approaches will depend on their oedipal stage of childhood development. The needs that are not met in these childhood stages will be shaped in their adult psyche, waiting for a chance to be vented through the deep-rooted child in the adult through projection or pressure onto their partner. Each individual had to go through a developmental phrase from their very early life and these stages in turn helps the child to shape their expectations to relate their childhood experiences with later relationships (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2010). Every individual needs an impactful social engagement system so that they can establish an attachment as well as affiliative relationships. However, this social engagement system is built and is determined by the experience in the early attachments that an individual has with that of their caregivers to give the context through which an adult will have the tendencies for regulating the arousal of stimulus and give the reaction. Therefore, any kind of disruptions in the bonds with the caregiver in the early life will have a major impact for how one will deal with relationships in the following lifetime. This will show up that there is a decrease capacity to measure arousal of stimulus from that of the interior as well as exterior sources, associating in developing healthy relationships as well as the capability to cope with stress (Comer, Gould & Furnham, 2013). Moreover, a child will learn through this social engagement system that how to experience safety along with maintaining to return to arousal to a casement of tolerance by lessening their Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and Dorsal Vagal parts in the brain as well as the Nervous system. Therefore, this becomes the foundation for the relationship experiences in one’s life to have that ability to tolerate, summon and even transform those difficult experiences but can be turn into opportunities for development. In a research study by Kochanska and Sanghag in 2013 stated that early attachments not only has an effect on the later life relationships but also has an impact on an individual’s behavior. It further stated that relationships of the children with their parents are analyzed in strange situations with each parent for 15months. It has been perceived that children who are ‘double secure’ which means are equally attached to both parents are the ones having more issues than those who are having a secured attachment with only one parent (Karreman & Vingerhoets, 2012).
Thus, from the above essay it can be concluded that early attachment plays an important role for the lifelong formation of relationships in an individual. However, from the various researches it has been found that from the researches done by Ainsworth, he has grouped attachment types into three main categories that is secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant. Moreover, the concepts of consistency hypothesis as well as internal working models also seems to contribute highly on the attachments that one is building during the early years of life. Therefore, securely attached children are more inclined to have successful lifelong relationships rather than those who are insecurely attached.
Reference
Bowlby, J., & Ainsworth, M. (2013). The origins of attachment theory. Attachment Theory: Social, Developmental, and Clinical Perspectives, 45.
Comer, R., Gould, E., Furnham, A. (2013). Psychology, UK: Wiley and Sons
Holmes, J. (2014). The search for the secure base: Attachment theory and psychotherapy. Routledge.
Johnson, S. (2014). Attachment: The key to love. Psychotherapy in Australia, 20(2), 54.
Karreman, A., & Vingerhoets, A. J. (2012). Attachment and well-being: The mediating role of emotion regulation and resilience. Personality and Individual differences, 53(7), 821-826.
Kochanska, G., & Kim, S. (2013). Early attachment organization with both parents and future behavior problems: From infancy to middle childhood. Child development, 84(1), 283-296.
Lamb, M. E. (2013). Infant-mother attachment: The origins and developmental significance of individual differences in Strange Situation behavior. Routledge.
Ludolph, P. S. (2012). The special issue on attachment: Overreaching theory and data. Family Court Review, 50(3), 486-495.
Martin, G.N., Carlson, N.R. &Buskist, W. (2010). Psychology. (4th Edition). Hove: Pearson Education
Answer
Many psychologists have argued that early attachments are having an impact on the later relationship that an individual forms. The emotional association that is formed in between the infant and their caregiver is the only way where the baby can get its basic needs met in their helpless state. This further becomes the motor for their following social, emotional as well as cognitive developments (Lamb, 2013). Therefore, attachment is a strong and enduring emotional relationship that binds one person with another. In this essay, the discussion will be on the importance of early attachments for the lifelong formation of relationships.
As stated in the continuity hypothesis that there exist uniformity between the early emotional attachments and the relationships that are formed later in a lifespan and it also observes that an individual’s attachment style in their childhood is reflected in their later relationships (Holmes, 2014). However, this idea is established upon the internal working model that has been proposed by Bowlby in his theory of monotropic. According to Bowlby, attachment is monotropic that means infants has an inborn tendency where they can form an attachment with a particular individual. Thus, the attachment that they form is strongest of all relationships and act as a model for their future relationships. The infant depending on this model will expect similar relationships with others in the future (Ludolph, 2012). Therefore, the idea of this internal working model is mainly a framework for the following relationships that is built upon the infant’s early attachments and effects the upcoming relationships in their lifespan. Many attachment theories are there which a child can develop in their infancy, as Ainsworth has divided these into secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant while; he was focusing with his ‘strange situation’ research. As found in Johnson’s book of 2014, it was seen that based on Ainsworth’s researches and the predictions of Bowlby, Hazan and Shaver built an experiment named ‘love quiz’ to investigate the notion that there is a consistency between the attachments build in early life with that of the romantic relationships that are formed in later life. The study came up with the result that those who have experienced secure attachment in their childhood inclined to have long lasting relationship formations throughout their lives whereas, those who have experienced insecure attachments are found to struggle with their adult relationships and more inclined to divorce and doubtful that whether love really exists or not. Therefore, this study highly supports that fact that early attachments play a vital role in the formation of relationships in the later life. However if the finding of Ainsworth’s research on attachment is to be considered then it can be said that his findings is similar with the association between the attachment style of adults and their remembrance of the parenting styles that they have received in their infancy. The outcome of Ainsworth’s research suggests that the attachment styles of the infants are very much associated with the degree of sensitivity manifested by their caregivers especially their mothers (Bowlby & Ainsworth, 2013).
The basis of an individual’s later life relationships and their approaches will depend on their oedipal stage of childhood development. The needs that are not met in these childhood stages will be shaped in their adult psyche, waiting for a chance to be vented through the deep-rooted child in the adult through projection or pressure onto their partner. Each individual had to go through a developmental phrase from their very early life and these stages in turn helps the child to shape their expectations to relate their childhood experiences with later relationships (Martin, Carlson & Buskist, 2010). Every individual needs an impactful social engagement system so that they can establish an attachment as well as affiliative relationships. However, this social engagement system is built and is determined by the experience in the early attachments that an individual has with that of their caregivers to give the context through which an adult will have the tendencies for regulating the arousal of stimulus and give the reaction. Therefore, any kind of disruptions in the bonds with the caregiver in the early life will have a major impact for how one will deal with relationships in the following lifetime. This will show up that there is a decrease capacity to measure arousal of stimulus from that of the interior as well as exterior sources, associating in developing healthy relationships as well as the capability to cope with stress (Comer, Gould & Furnham, 2013). Moreover, a child will learn through this social engagement system that how to experience safety along with maintaining to return to arousal to a casement of tolerance by lessening their Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and Dorsal Vagal parts in the brain as well as the Nervous system. Therefore, this becomes the foundation for the relationship experiences in one’s life to have that ability to tolerate, summon and even transform those difficult experiences but can be turn into opportunities for development. In a research study by Kochanska and Sanghag in 2013 stated that early attachments not only has an effect on the later life relationships but also has an impact on an individual’s behavior. It further stated that relationships of the children with their parents are analyzed in strange situations with each parent for 15months. It has been perceived that children who are ‘double secure’ which means are equally attached to both parents are the ones having more issues than those who are having a secured attachment with only one parent (Karreman & Vingerhoets, 2012).
Thus, from the above essay it can be concluded that early attachment plays an important role for the lifelong formation of relationships in an individual. However, from the various researches it has been found that from the researches done by Ainsworth, he has grouped attachment types into three main categories that is secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant. Moreover, the concepts of consistency hypothesis as well as internal working models also seems to contribute highly on the attachments that one is building during the early years of life. Therefore, securely attached children are more inclined to have successful lifelong relationships rather than those who are insecurely attached.
Reference
Bowlby, J., & Ainsworth, M. (2013). The origins of attachment theory. Attachment Theory: Social, Developmental, and Clinical Perspectives, 45.
Comer, R., Gould, E., Furnham, A. (2013). Psychology, UK: Wiley and Sons
Holmes, J. (2014). The search for the secure base: Attachment theory and psychotherapy. Routledge.
Johnson, S. (2014). Attachment: The key to love. Psychotherapy in Australia, 20(2), 54.
Karreman, A., & Vingerhoets, A. J. (2012). Attachment and well-being: The mediating role of emotion regulation and resilience. Personality and Individual differences, 53(7), 821-826.
Kochanska, G., & Kim, S. (2013). Early attachment organization with both parents and future behavior problems: From infancy to middle childhood. Child development, 84(1), 283-296.
Lamb, M. E. (2013). Infant-mother attachment: The origins and developmental significance of individual differences in Strange Situation behavior. Routledge.
Ludolph, P. S. (2012). The special issue on attachment: Overreaching theory and data. Family Court Review, 50(3), 486-495.
Martin, G.N., Carlson, N.R. &Buskist, W. (2010). Psychology. (4th Edition). Hove: Pearson Education
