Synonyms
Definition
The bond between two persons, often between an infant and his/her caregiver.
Ethological Beginnings
Ethologists were the first to notice that all species exhibit particular biologically programmed attachment behaviors. These behaviors ensure that adults will care for their young and increase their chances of survival. Current attachment theory was formed by examining the research conducted by ethologists on animals. For instance, an ethologist, Konrad Lorenz (1935), studied imprinting in ducklings and goslings. Imprinting is a phenomenon in which a duckling or gosling will follow a moving object. Imprinting is believed to be innate and most likely to happen during a sensitive period shortly after birth. Harry Harlow’s (1958) extensive research with infant and mother monkeys also paved the way for current attachment theory. Harlow separated infant monkeys from their birth mothers and placed them with surrogate “mothers.” Infant monkeys...
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References
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Harlow, H. F. (1958). The nature of love. American Psychologist, 13, 673–685.
Lorenz, K. (1935). The companion in the bird’s world. The fellow-member of the species as releasing factor of social behavior. Journal fur Ornithologie. Beiblatt. (Leipzig), 83, 137–213.
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Leszczynski, J.P. (2018). History of Attachment Theory. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1352-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1352-1
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