ABSTRACT
The emergence of attachment theory, as articulated by John Bowlby, and the discovery by Mary Ainsworth of a way to assess individual differences in attachment behaviour patterns, laid the groundwork for intensive, ongoing, fruitful attempts to examine the psychological effects of early relationships. The concept of attachment includes social, emotional, cognitive and behavioural components. Attachment is a property of social relationships in which a weaker, less skilled individual relies on a more competent and powerful one for protection. In particular, cognitive components and internal working models play an increasingly important role as the child matures into adulthood. Ainsworth was not the first to make direct observations of infant - mother interactions, but the Ganda study and the work in Baltimore that followed it were the first studies to be framed by the concepts most relevant to attachment.
