From Attachment to Affiliation

The delineation of the attachment process in early infancy is a landmark in developmental theory. In his exposition of this phase of ontogenesis, Dr. Bowl by has integrated psychoanalytic theory, experimental studies of normal growth, and longitudinal approaches to psychopathology and has also stressed the contribution of the data on animal studies. Utilizing an ethological framework, Dr. Bowlby has detailed the interplay of behavioral stimuli that elicit appropriate affectionate responses in the infant-mother relationship (4, 5). The use of ethological data has also strengthened his significant conclusion that attachment behavior is a fundamental and primary drive, which is not derived from the satisfaction of allegedly more basic instincts, such as hunger.

Traditional psychoanalytic theory had viewed the child's attachment to the mother as a learned, secondary drive, which developed because the mother was the one who satisfied the infant's oral needs. However, ethological studies revealed that very strong attachment bonds occur in newly hatched ground-nesting birds such as ducks and geese, even though the mother does not feed the chicks, who are able to catch insects almost from birth. In more evolved species, such as the higher apes, clinging occurs before feeding in the neonate. Therefore, an ethological approach has demonstrated that attachment is an independent process that is a universal characteristic of primates, including man, and that it is also found in many lower species. The biological function of attachment is said to be primarily security and protection, which, although most obvious in early childhood, can be observed throughout the life cycle.

The use of an ethological framework, which has been helpful in comprehending attachment, may prove fruitful to the understanding of later stages of development as well. The gradual process of separation, after the