attachment

Meaning: Attachment is the close emotional bond that forms between an infant and a primary caregiver, usually during the first year. Bowlby argued that it is adaptive because it keeps the infant near a protector. In Harlow's monkey studies, infants clung to a soft cloth surrogate rather than a wire one that supplied milk, so contact comfort mattered more than feeding. Ainsworth's Strange Situation watches a toddler as the caregiver leaves and returns: secure: upset at separation, quickly comforted on return avoidant: little distress, ignores the caregiver on return ambivalent (resistant): very distressed, not easily soothed, may seek and resist contact disorganized: confused, inconsistent behavior

On the MCAT: A passage describes a reunion episode and asks you to name the style, or describes Harlow's design and asks what it shows. Sensitive, responsive caregiving is linked to secure attachment, and attachment style is linked to later social relationships.

Common confusion: A calm infant is not necessarily securely attached. The avoidant infant looks calm but is classed as insecure, and a secure infant may cry at separation. What settles it is the reaction on reunion. Separately, in sociology, Hirschi's social control theory uses attachment to mean emotional ties to others that discourage deviance.