Milestone 3

Milestone Two:

Sandy Pennington

Southern New Hampshire University

For my final project, I settled on the theory of modern attachment that was propagated by Bowlby (1969) and Ainsworth (1969). This was a development to the theory of attachment which aimed at determining the bond between infants and their primary care givers, who more often than not are their parents. In this regard, it is my opinion that this further research into this theory is significant for three main reasons. To begin with, the emphasis by Schore and Schore (2007) regarding its contribution to clinical social work is a fundamental area which requires further research given that it talks about to the influence of the unconscious mental forces which determine individual behavioral and emotional tendencies within a social setting. Similarly, its applicability as the foundation for the regulation theory equally provides a wider array of area, which may be used to develop the final project further given that it attempts to elaborate the effect of attachment understandings on individual regulation. Finally, the insufficient information regarding this specific area of expertise prompted me to research more on it in a bid to establish the correlation between attachment theory and other fields such as psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and mental health information.

Personality psychology on the other hand, delves into an exploration of the various types of personalities and the extent of their disparities among individuals. As proposed by Larsen, Buss, Wismeijer and Song (2017) in attempting to provide an explanation into the internal rationality behind individuals’ thoughts, perceptions and influencers, proponents of this theory enumerated three principle fields of their concentration which include the creation of a pictorial depiction of an individuals’ psychological progressions, exploring these psychological disparities and thereafter scrutinizing the general characteristics of individuals with the aim of defining their psychological similarities and differences.

To this end, modern attachment theory significantly contributes to personality psychology in that it narrows the scope of the research into explaining how different individuals with differing personalities develop attachment to similarly differing individuals with equally differing personalities. Beginning with the attachment theory, Bowlby (1969) stated that it predominantly relates to three aspects, which include evolution, ethology and psychology. On the other hand, according to Eysenck (2013) personality psychology in essence attempts to elaborate the perceptions of an individual, which determine his drive, cognitive abilities, reaction to stimuli and behavioral aspects.

The middle ground is therefore achieved at the behavioral aspects given that attachment theory uses observational psychology in the study of mother and child relationship. Similarly, in its study of the developing relationship between the primary care giver and the child, Borghans, Duckworth and Heckman (2008) state that Bowlby contributed to personality psychology through his developmental psychology of babies from diverse experiences. In the same vein, attachment theory dictates individual’s personality development at their early ages as can be illustrated by Ainsworth (1969) through her strange situation concept which offered that attachment at infancy was as a result of candid interaction between her and her caregiver hence determining future personality traits depending on the nature of this interaction. In modern times, personality psychologists have often proposed several theorems alluding to the origin and evolution of man, through a study of his personality. In the same way, attachment theory has proposed an explanation into the relationship patterns created amongst individuals in their interactions from their birth through death by monitoring their attachment. Consequently, attachment theory significantly contributes to the two aspects of personality psychology through detailed elaborations of both evolutionary and interaction theory hence its relevance.

References

Ainsworth Mary (1969) Infancy in Uganda and the Growth of Love Bowlby John (1969) Attachment and Loss

Borghans L, Duckworth A & Heckman J (2008) The Economics and psychology of personality traits

Eysenck H (2013) The structure of Human Personality (Psychology Revivals)

Larsen R, Buss D, Wismeijer A & Song J (2017) Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge about human nature

Judith Schore & Allan Schore (2007) Modern Attachment Theory: The Central Role of Affect Regulation in Development and Treatment