5.7 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affectional bond | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affectional_bond | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:31:20.339060+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Goal corrected partnership === According to Bowlby's ideas of attachment, goal-corrected partnership is the last stage that a child experiences. It usually happens around age three. As the child begins spending more time with their caregiver, they begin to realize that their caregiver has goals and ideas of their own that may not concern the child. Because of this, the child begins to "mold their behavior in order to please or impress the caregiver". This type of bond is most likely to occur between the infant and the mother.
== Caregivers == Caregivers play an important role in children's lives for several reasons. It is important for the child to have an affectional bond with the person who is caring for that child. According to Bowlby, caregivers can be anyone who is caring for the child but is usually the mother or father of that child. Children place a high value on their relationship with their parents and will alter their behavior to meet the desired behavior from their parents. Bowlby explains by the time the child has reached twelve months of age the child has developed a strong relationship with his mother. Freud who is cited in Bowlby's article "The Nature of the Child's Tie to his Mother" says that a child's first love is a satisfaction of the need for food and an object for food, so either the mother's breast or bottle of milk. Bowlby has four theories that explain how the attachment and bond are created between a child and their caregiver.
Secondary drive: When the physiological needs of the child are met, for example when the child needs are met by the mother feeding or keeping her child warm. Primary object sucking: Infants have an innate quality that needs to be filled by sucking on the mother's breast which he realized is connected to his mother, therefore creating a stronger bond. Primary object clinging: Besides food as a primary need, the feel or touch of another human is also a primary need for infants so they cling to their parents to meet this need. Primary return-to-womb craving: Infants crave to go back inside their mother's womb.
== Other affectional bonds through the lifespan ==
=== Mother to infant === The bond between mothers and infants has been determined to be the core bond during the lifespan for mothers and children. At birth, mothers go through a postpartum period where they feel detached from their infant and need to create a new bond different from the one that was created during the prenatal period. The bond between mother and infant is just as important to the mother as it is to the infant. This bond can be formed after the once believed critical period of postpartum skin contact. This first emotional bond is the basis of all future relationships and bonds in the child's future.
=== Father to child === The bond between father and child has been found to be more important than previously believed, however it has not been found to be as important as the bond between mother and child. Children do bond with fathers as a caregiver but the level of the strength of the bond is dependent upon the level of involvement by the father. However, there is not sufficient research on the subject to draw any other conclusions on the bond and on father's involvement.
=== Older couples' display of affection === Older couples' deep displays of bonding stem from the sheer longevity of their relationship. Having shared many lifetimes' worth of experiences together, they have built a solid foundation based on trust, mutual understanding, and acceptance. This bond became unbreakable over the years as they weathered life's challenges side by side.
=== Sexual partnership === The bond between sexual partners is characterized with three components which are reproductive, attachment and caregiver, and they may be more prevalent in certain relationships than in others. In some sexual partnerships there is only a reproductive component, with no emotional attachment. When an attachment is formed on top of the reproductive bond, the male is likely to take on a caregiver role with offspring as well as his mate; which in western culture is usually his wife. In western culture the pair often exchanges levels of care, and attachment throughout the lifespan. In traditional married couples the level of sexual attachment changes throughout the lifespan of the relationship thus stating that there are other important aspects of the bond between husband and wife. Couples share an emotional and intellectual bond on top of the sexual one. In western society traditional gender roles are being challenged which is impacting the level of male caregiver attachment to his wife; however there is not a large field of research on the subject. Non-heterosexual couples are hypothesized to share much of the same attachment components; however there is little research on the subject to draw conclusions from.
=== Friends, companions, intimates === The bond formed between friends, companions and intimates are essential bonds to the lifetime. These bonds are essential for social development because they differ from the bonds formed with parents and other kin. Humans are naturally social creatures thus forming bonds with other people comes naturally. These relationships are often formed through common interests, and proximity. Friendships begin in early childhood, and last throughout adulthood. Many different friendships are formed throughout the lifespan and they can be any length of time. Again, these bonds tend to not be as strong as those formed with other kin, but the social aspects of them are essential to development.