Attachment in Infancy: A-level Developmental Psychology Overview

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Psychology AS: Developmental Psychology – Attachment in Infancy

Attachment represents one of the fundamental pillars of human development, describing the lasting emotional bond that typically forms between an infant and their primary caregiver, most often the mother. John Bowlby, a British psychoanalyst, originally conceptualised attachment as an evolved system to keep vulnerable infants close to a protective adult. In this sense, attachment is not simply a sentimental connection; it is a complex interplay of instinct, emotion, and learning, central to a child’s survival, psychological security, and social adaptation.

The study of attachment stands at the crossroads of psychology, medicine, education, and social policy, since early relationships lay the foundations for emotional well-being and later ability to form healthy social and romantic bonds. From the classroom to hospital wards and social work, an understanding of how infants bond—and sometimes fail to bond—with caregivers is at the heart of safeguarding and child development in the UK context.

This essay will critically examine the core concepts of attachment in infancy. It will explore the typical behaviours that signal these bonds, the developmental trajectory from birth into toddlerhood, and how psychologists measure attachment security, particularly through the Strange Situation. Factors influencing attachment, including parental sensitivity and cultural context, will be assessed, before concluding with a discussion on complexity and future directions in this field.

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Key Attachment Behaviours in Infants

Separation Protest is typically the first unmistakable sign. Around seven or eight months, many infants display marked distress—crying, searching, or clinging—when their caregiver leaves the room. This has an obvious evolutionary advantage: by signalling aloud, the baby increases its chances that the caregiver will return quickly, thus ensuring protection from risks.

Exploration Behaviour highlights the dual role of the caregiver: both a comfort and a springboard. In the British attachment tradition, Mary Ainsworth referred to the concept of the ‘secure base’. For instance, a securely attached infant in a nursery might crawl off to investigate a new toy, but will glance back or crawl back to their carer for reassurance if unsure. The ability to confidently explore, knowing support is close by, is a positive outcome of a healthy attachment.

Stranger Anxiety emerges at a time when an infant begins to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar faces. Whereas a newborn will often accept anyone, by six to eight months, an infant might hide or cry when approached by a stranger. In practical terms, British parents often notice this when leaving their baby with a childminder or at the local crèche for the first time. This hesitancy or fear serves to discourage the infant from wandering into danger.

Joy on Reunion is not just sentimental—it's a vital signal that the attachment figure is both missed and valued. When the caregiver returns after a separation, a securely attached infant shows visible pleasure: smiling, reaching out, or seeking physical contact.

Taken together, these observables—protest at separation, comfort from proximity, anxiety towards strangers, and delight at reunion—compose what Maccoby called the ‘core repertoire’ of attachment. They enable clinicians, educators, and researchers in the UK to assess the strength and security of early bonds.

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The Developmental Stages of Attachment

Pre-Attachment Stage (0–2 months): In the earliest period, infants display social signals such as crying and smiling indiscriminately. There is no clear preference for a specific person, and their behaviour is largely reflexive. Parents in the UK may notice that, at this age, their baby settles readily with any gentle, responsive adult.

Attachment-in-the-Making (2–7 months): Here, infants begin to recognise familiar faces—perhaps smiling more readily at mum’s face than at a visiting relative’s. Whilst they start to build expectations about who is there to comfort them, protest at separation remains limited.

Clear-Cut Attachment (from 7 months): Separation protest and stranger anxiety become evident, locking in a primary attachment figure—often but not always the mother. British parents returning to work after maternity leave often first experience dramatic scenes of protest during this stage, especially at handover in nurseries or with childminders. The consistency of the key figure is crucial for the developing child’s sense of stability and trust.

Multiple Attachments (from around 8 months): As babies become more mobile and exposed to a range of caregivers—fathers, older siblings, grandparents—they begin to form attachments beyond the primary figure. However, evidence from British nursery settings suggests these secondary bonds, while important, tend not to be as strong as the main attachment.

Reciprocal Relationships (8–24 months): Development of cognition and language means infants can now understand routines, anticipate when a carer will leave and return, and begin to play a more active role in sustaining the attachment, for example by offering a toy or using gestures to request comfort.

Yet, these stages are not rigid. Studies from British cohorts show that some children progress faster or slower, influenced by temperament, family structure, and even cultural practices—for example, whether babies sleep in the same room as parents, or attend nursery from a very early age. The plasticity of these stages underscores that attachment is a process shaped by both individual differences and environment.

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Measuring Attachment: The Strange Situation

The laboratory setting, while somewhat artificial, allows for standardisation akin to a controlled experiment; much as a science practical in a UK Sixth Form lab ensures reliability, so too does the Strange Situation allow meaningful comparison between children and groups.

Key observations include:

- Exploratory behaviour: Does the infant use the caregiver as a base from which to explore when in the room? - Stranger anxiety: How does the infant react when left with an unfamiliar adult? - Separation protest: Is the infant upset when left alone or with a stranger? - Reunion behaviour: How are the infant and caregiver reunited? Is there seeking of contact, avoidance, or ambivalence?

These patterns led to the identification of three attachment types:

- Secure: The majority of British infants fall into this category—happy to explore, distressed on separation but quickly comforted on reunion. - Insecure-Avoidant: Infants appear indifferent; little distress at separation, no strong preference between caregiver and stranger, and no particular reunion response. - Insecure-Resistant (Ambivalent): These infants are highly distressed upon separation and seek contact on reunion, but show anger or resistance to being comforted.

The Strange Situation’s strengths lie in its replicability and predictive power: for example, Secure infants in the British ALSPAC and Millennium Cohort Studies tend to have more positive peer relations and emotional outcomes later in childhood. However, critics note that the artificial setting may not reflect everyday home life, and that the procedure’s suitability across cultures is debatable; what is seen as ‘avoidant’ in one national context may be considered polite independence in another.

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Factors Influencing Attachment Security

Parental Sensitivity is widely viewed as the cornerstone for secure attachment. UK policies, like the Health Visitor checks, emphasise the parent’s ability to notice, accurately interpret, and respond promptly to the baby’s cues. When, for instance, a parent picks up a crying baby and soothes it effectively, the infant learns that its needs are predictable and will be met.

By contrast, parental mental health can profoundly disrupt this process. Maternal depression, common in the postnatal period, may blunt a mother’s emotional availability or cause her to withdraw, thus undermining the infant’s sense of security. The NHS’s expanded perinatal mental health services highlight the growing recognition of this issue. Support for parents, such as through Sure Start centres or family therapy, can help mitigate these risks.

Infant temperament, a child’s natural disposition—whether calm or irritable, cuddly or self-contained—also plays a role. ‘Easy’ babies may elicit more sensitive care, but ‘difficult’ infants, who cry more or are harder to comfort, might strain even the most determined carer. Research in the UK indicates that while temperament is an important consideration, the style of caregiving can often mediate or buffer its effects.

Finally, environmental and socioeconomic circumstances in the UK, such as housing instability, parental employment, and access to support, may either facilitate or hinder the development of secure attachment. Families facing poverty, frequent moves, or social exclusion often experience more stress, which can spill over into less responsive parenting.

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Cultural Variations in Attachment

Individualistic cultures, like those typical in the UK, tend to encourage autonomy and self-expression. Here, infants are often praised for independent exploration and self-soothing. By contrast, collectivist cultures, such as among some British South Asian communities, may value obedience, family closeness, and infants remaining physically near adults for longer.

Large-scale studies, such as the EU-funded ‘Cultural Pathways to Economic Self-Sufficiency and Resilience’, demonstrate that attachment styles vary: In some German samples, for example, ‘avoidant’ attachment is more common, possibly reflecting cultural norms around independence. In Japanese families, children may be less exposed to separations, making experiences like the Strange Situation especially distressing and thus likely to produce high rates of ‘resistant’ classifications.

Additionally, transferring Western-developed tools like the Strange Situation into different cultural contexts can be problematic. Behaviours considered ‘secure’ in one setting may not have the same meaning elsewhere. Thus, UK psychologists are now encouraged to adopt culturally sensitive methods and to interpret findings in light of family and cultural norms.

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Conclusion

However, it is essential to move beyond simple labels of ‘secure’ or ‘insecure’. Family circumstances, parental mental health, sibling relationships, and wider cultural values all influence how attachments are formed and expressed. As our society continues to diversify, with more complex family structures and new challenges such as digital parenting, further research is vital. Ongoing understanding of attachment will remain crucial—not just in psychology, but in shaping education, health, and social care across the UK.

Ultimately, ensuring secure early attachments is an endeavour not only for parents but for communities and institutions, so that every child in Britain has the best chance to thrive.