ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a brief overview of attachment theory, and shows that the way that attachment behaviour has been assessed, its persistence and stability, and the debate around this issue; its transgenerational transmission from parent to infant; the patterns of caregiver/careseeker interactions associated with secure and insecure attachment status. Infants, when they are not hungry, tired or ill, enjoy communicating with an attuned adult who vocalises and matches, raises or lower their level of vitality. Research into infant development provided evidence that infants know within moments of birth that they are like other people and can match expressions on others’ faces with their own internal bodily states. The chapter examines the issue of affect attunement in careseeking and caregiving, and that affect attunement, purposeful misattunement and non attunement can contribute to complex patterns of careseeking/caregiving interactions. In contrast, children with secure histories seem to have acquired a foundation for empathy from their early relationships.
