Human Growth and Development / Unit 4 HGD 0485 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Bowlby's Four Phases
The idea
Bowlby described attachment forming in four phases. In pre-attachment, from birth to about two months, infants respond to anyone. In attachment in the making, about two to seven months, they come to prefer familiar caregivers. In clear-cut attachment, about seven to twenty-four months, a specific, lasting bond forms: the infant follows the caregiver and shows separation anxiety. In reciprocal relationships, from about two years, the bond persists when the caregiver is absent.
In practice
One child's first two years: smiling at anyone, then preferring a parent, then crying when that parent leaves, then waving goodbye calmly.
Where people slip
By the last phase the child has an internal working model, a mental template of how relationships work, which carries into later relationships. Bowlby first thought infants attach to one caregiver; later research shows several attachments are possible. The phase ages are approximate.
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