1
Early attachment and development
PSY104- Child and adolescent development
2
There are many ways to bond with children and the earlier the attachments the more effects it
can have on development. Bowlby and Ainsworth are two people who have discovered the different
types of bonding and shows the importance of it. John Bowlby discovered attachment theory to show
the experiences affect relationships through life (Mossler, 2015). Mary Ainsworth expands on principles
of attachment by using strange situation. Therefore, in this paper you will see four phases of
attachment identified by Bowlby, four types of attachment identified by Ainsworth, as well as see how
attachment experiences affect psychosocial development of children and adolescents.
John Bowlby says there is four phases to attachment and while babies have no preferences for
humans at first, they start to show strong connections at four to six months (Mossler, 2015). The four
phases of attachment are pre-attachment, attachment-in-the-making, organized, goal-directed
attachment, and formation of reciprocal partnerships. preattachments occurs at birth to six weeks and
can be noticed when there is smiling, gazing, crying to get adult interaction as well as no separation
anxiety when an adult leaves (Mossler, 2015). The next thing that happens is attachment in the making
which occurs at six weeks to six months. This can look like infants recognizing and preferring who to be
Early attachment and development
PSY104- Child and adolescent development
2
There are many ways to bond with children and the earlier the attachments the more effects it
can have on development. Bowlby and Ainsworth are two people who have discovered the different
types of bonding and shows the importance of it. John Bowlby discovered attachment theory to show
the experiences affect relationships through life (Mossler, 2015). Mary Ainsworth expands on principles
of attachment by using strange situation. Therefore, in this paper you will see four phases of
attachment identified by Bowlby, four types of attachment identified by Ainsworth, as well as see how
attachment experiences affect psychosocial development of children and adolescents.
John Bowlby says there is four phases to attachment and while babies have no preferences for
humans at first, they start to show strong connections at four to six months (Mossler, 2015). The four
phases of attachment are pre-attachment, attachment-in-the-making, organized, goal-directed
attachment, and formation of reciprocal partnerships. preattachments occurs at birth to six weeks and
can be noticed when there is smiling, gazing, crying to get adult interaction as well as no separation
anxiety when an adult leaves (Mossler, 2015). The next thing that happens is attachment in the making
which occurs at six weeks to six months. This can look like infants recognizing and preferring who to be
