Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans. The most important tenet of attachment theory is that a young child needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally. The theory was formulated by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby. Within attachment theory, infant behaviour associated with attachment is primarily the seeking of proximity to an attachment figure in stressful situations. Attachment figures arise as infants become attached to adults, usually but not necessarily parents, who are sensitive and responsive in social interactions with them, and who remain as consistent caregivers for some months during the period from about six months to two years of age. During the latter part of this period, children begin to use attachment figures (familiar people) as a secure base to explore from and return to. Parental responses lead to the development of patterns of attachment; these, in turn, lead to internal working models which will guide the individual's feelings, thoughts and expectations in later relationships. Separation anxiety or grief following the loss of an attachment figure is considered to be a normal and adaptive response for an attached infant. These behaviours may have evolved because they increase the probability of survival of the child.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theory

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1554:

Jesuit missionaries José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega established a mission at São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, which grew to become São Paulo, Brazil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo

1755:

Russian Empress Elizabeth issued a decree ordering the establishment of what is now Lomonosov Moscow State University , today the largest university in Russia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomonosov_Moscow_State_University

1924:

The first Winter Olympic Games opened at the foot of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France, attracting more than 200 athletes from 16 nations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Olympic_Games

1971:

Idi Amin Dada seized power in a military coup d'état from President Milton Obote, beginning eight years of military rule in Uganda. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin_Dada

2006:

Three independent observing campaigns announced the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, a super-Earth extrasolar planet 21,500 ± 3,300 light years away from Earth near the center of the Milky Way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

copacetic (adj): (US) Fine, excellent http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/copacetic

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The strongest natures, when they are influenced, submit the most unreservedly; it is perhaps a sign of their strength. --Virginia Woolf http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf