william sears was the psychologist responsible for originating the theory of attachment.
who was the psychologist responsible for originating the theory of attachment?
william sears
attachment-based therapy applies to interventions or approaches based on attachment theory, originated by john bowlby. these range from individual therapeutic approaches to public health programs to interventions specifically designed for foster carers. although attachment theory has become a major scientific theory of socioemotional development with one of the broadest, deepest research lines in modern psychology, attachment theory has, until recently, been less clinically applied than theories with far less empirical support. this may be partly due to lack of attention paid to clinical application by bowlby himself and partly due to broader meanings of the word 'attachment' used amongst practitioners. it may also be partly due to the mistaken association of attachment theory with the pseudo-scientific interventions misleadingly known as attachment therapy. the approaches set out below are examples of recent clinical applications of attachment theory by mainstream attachment theorists and clinicians and are aimed at infants or children who have developed or are at risk of developing less desirable, insecure attachment styles or an attachment disorder.
attachment-based therapy (children)
a theory of attachment is a framework of ideas that attempt to explain attachment, the almost universal human tendency to prefer certain familiar companions over other people, especially when ill, injured, or distressed. historically, certain social preferences, like those of parents for their children, were explained by reference to instinct, or the moral worth of the individual. the concept of infants' emotional attachment to caregivers has been known anecdotally for hundreds of years. most early observers focused on the anxiety displayed by infants and toddlers when threatened with separation from a familiar caregiver. psychological theories about attachment were suggested from the late nineteenth century onward. freudian theory attempted a systematic consideration of infant attachment and attributed the infant's attempts to stay near the familiar person to motivation learned through feeding experiences and gratification of libidinal drives. in the 1930s, the british developmentalist ian suttie put forward the suggestion that the child's need for affection was a primary one, not based on hunger or other physical gratifications. a third theory prevalent at the time of bowlby's development of attachment theory was "dependency". this approach posited that infants were dependent on adult caregivers but that dependency was, or should be outgrown as the individual matured. such an approach perceived attachment behaviour in older children as regressive whereas within attachment theory older children and adults remain attached and indeed a secure attachment is associated with independent exploratory behaviour rather than dependence. william blatz, a canadian psychologist and teacher of bowlby's colleague mary ainsworth, was among the first to stress the need for security as a normal part of personality at all ages, as well as normality of the use of others as a secure base and the importance of social relationships for other aspects of development.
history of attachment theory