Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
4-25-2025
Keywords
attachment theory, caregiving bond, child development, childhood, evolutionary perspective, John Bowlby, members of the species, mental proximity, parental closeness, Peggy Emerson, physical closeness, primary comfort, Rudolph Schaffer, social comfort, species proximity, tendency of the young, young children
Disciplines
Child Psychology | Developmental Psychology | Theory and Philosophy
Abstract
Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson’s work on the development of attachment in childhood is based on the evolutionary perspective of John Bowlby. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) defined attachment as, “The tendency of the young to seek the proximity of other members of the species” (p. 6). In their view, infants and young children seek out and find comfort in being physically close to people with whom they have formed attachments.
Recommended Citation
Cornelius-White, Jeffery H. and Test, Joan E., "Attachment Theory: Schaffer and Emerson" (2025). Essays in Developmental Psychology. 20.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/edp/20
Included in
Child Psychology Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Theory and Philosophy Commons