ABSTRACT
The theoretical position regarding the process by which attachment relationships develop recognizes that the very young infant's attachment behaviors are independently and indiscriminantly exhibited. Over time, however, these behaviors become organized in more complex ways and, perhaps more important, infants become more discriminating about the person or persons toward whom they prefer to direct these behaviors. In fact, it is only when the infant's attachment behaviors are integrated into a coherent behavioral-motivational system and organized around a particular figure or figures who provide care, comfort, and safety that the term attachment is properly applied (Bretherton, 1987). A somewhat detailed accounting of this process has been provided by attachment theorists, who delineate four phases through which the
1For more detailed accounts of attachment theory, refer to Bowlby (1969), Ainsworth (1979), and Bretherton (1987).
