There are many explanations for attachment such as

the learning theory and Bowlbys theory of attachment

Discuss 1 explanation of attachment.
Attachment is an affectional tie that a person or animal forms
between himself and another specific one- a tie that behinds
that binds them together in space and endure over time.
Mary Ainsworth. This tie is one of which is based on emotions
or feeling rather than any other need (such as bodily or
cognitive needs). The bond that a mother and child share is
displayed through the strong sense of attachment the child has
to the mother and the severe distress the child undergoes when
separated from its mother who acts as a secure base.
John Bowlby was a British psychologist, Psychiatrist and
psychoanalyst who believed that behavioural problems may be
strongly associated to earlier maternal attachments. He
proposed a theory of continuation; individuals who are securely
attached during infancy develop to be socially and emotionally
competent in the future, on the other hand, insecurely attached
children have more social and emotional difficulties later on in
childhood and adulthood. The reason behind this is because the
mothers behaviour creates an internal working model of
relationships that in effect leads the infants to expect the same
in later relationships.
According to Bowlby, children have an innate determination to
become attached to a caregiver because it has long-term
benefits as does Imprinting. This is because both attachment
and imprinting ensures that a young child/animal stays close to
a caregiver who can provide it with food, comfort and
protection. In this way, attachment and imprinting are adaptive
behaviours. These are behaviours that increase the likelihood of
survival and reproduction. Infants who dont become attached
are less likely to survive and reproduce. However, the process
works both ways. There must also be some drive to provide the
care and comfort for the infant while trying to endure a strong
bond with him/her at the same time. Attachment is the innate
behavioural system in babies; caregiving is the innate response
in adults. Both are needed in order to form a strong bond of

attachment and the formation of these attachments depend on

the interaction of these systems.
Bowlby established that attachment is significant for safeguard
and comfort of the child and in this way acts as a secure base
from which a child can explore the world and a safe haven to
return to when threatened. As a result attachment adopts the
idea of independence rather than dependence although many
people believe attachment promotes dependence. Attachment
starts as a relationship between a caregiver and infant. This
relationship may be one of trust or of uncertainty and
inconsistency thus creating expectations of what all future
relationships will be like. Gradually, the infant creates a model
about emotional relationships: Bowlby referred to this as an
Internal Working Model- a model of what to expect from a
relationship. The Internal working model means there is a
consistency between earlier emotional experiences and later
relationships. This leads to the continuity hypothesis- the idea
that there is a link between the early attachment bond and
later emotional behaviour.
The research of Konrad Lorenz supported the views that
imprinting is innate because the goslings imprinted on the first
moving objects they saw-whether it was a goose or Lorenz
himself. The reason for this proving that innate attachments are
created to provide protection/ security.
Another experiment being Tronick et al which studied an
African tribe, the Efe, from Zaire, who live in extended family
groups. The infants were often breastfed by different women
but usually went to sleep with the mother at night. This proved
the theory that this innate attachment an infant or animal
develops towards a primary attachment figure, displaying
Monotropy- usually towards its mother, is true.