Bowlby's Theory Of Attachment Essay

Perhaps the most influential explanation of attachment was presented by John Bowlby who began developing his ideas in the 1940s. Bowlby was commissioned by the World Health Organisation to investigate whether young children were likely to be harmed if they are separated from their mothers in the early years. (Hayes, 1996). Bowlby (1951) reported that infants possesses an innate need to attach to one main attachment figure (this was usually the mother). According to Hayes (1996), this is a special relationship which is qualitatively different from the relationship they form with any other kind of person. He described this as the process of monotropy; however, Bowlby did not deny that babies formed lots of attachments. (Bailey et al. 2008).

Kate Murphy’s 2017 article, “Yes, It’s Your Parents’ Fault”, seems to point blame on parents for adults’ behavior in relationships. Murphy’s claim however is grounded in research on a theory first devised in 1958 by British psychoanalyst John Bowlby, known as the attachment theory. This theory has garnered more and more attention and credibility as it continues to give psychologists, neuroscientists, sociologists, and other researchers insight on human connections and information from explaining how we function in relationships to its practical applications in therapeutic and clinical settings. The underlying assumption of Bowlby’s attachment theory is that the quality of a baby’s early attachments and relationships describes and influences

Bowlby’s attachment theory has greatly influenced practice. His theory of attachment explains the importance of having a figure that the child shares a strong bond with. Having an attachment can significantly support a child’s development as Barbara Woods suggests that “his theory of attachment proposed that attachment is innate in both infants and mothers, and that the formation of this attachment is crucial for the infants development” Wood, B (2001, p.53). Bowlby believed that forming an attachment will help a child develop in all areas e.g. emotionally, physical and mentally. However if they did not form an attachment in the sensitive period, the child may have issues or problems in their cognitive, emotional and social development.

At 8 months, the physician performed a routine physical exam. He stated that Noah was advanced in his gross and fine motor skills. Noah enjoyed crawling, pulling him self up to stand and manipulating objects. According to

In the part of the essay I will describe and evaluate Bowlbys theory of Attachment and the learning theory of Attachment. I will show strengths and weaknesses in both theories. I will use a collection of source literature to back up and correlate this information.

Preattachment takes place between birth and 6 weeks of the baby’s life. During this period a baby responds to the smell and voice of their mother. This is what comforts them. When the caregiver picks the baby up or smiles at the baby the first stages of attachment are formed. The complete stage of attachment has not yet been formed as you could leave the baby with an unfamiliar person and they would still be content.

John Bowlby had worked with residential school children as a volunteer early on in his career and had determined that the children who suffered the most from anger outbursts, aggressivity, and whom her termed “affectionless” were also the children who had suffered the most maternal deprivation (). Bowlby advanced that the loss of the mother figure was extremely distressing and damaging and could influence adults' behavior years later. Hence, where psychoanalysis had been concerned “solely with the imaginings of the childish mind, the fantasied pleasures and the dreaded retributions” (Fonagy), Bowlby showed that humans do not develop in a void or as “individual monads” but as members of interacting systems. Bowlby developed his theory on attachment for several decades, and at a time where any dealings with childhood trauma were still rigorously influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis through the likes of psychoanalysts such Anna Freud or Melanie Klein. Even Winnicott was “revulsed” upon reading Bowlby's papers (siegel). It certainly was a bitter pill to swallow for psychoanalysts who had been repeating since Freud that the newborn was a little tyrant fighting for oral gratification at the mother's breast and merely clinging on to fulfil sexual instinctual needs. Bowlby's work was thus eschewed for a considerable time, despite his involvement with the World Health Organisation and the considerable empirical weight that was added to his findings by Mary Ainsworth's studies in

8. Bowlby developed the attachment theory. He defined his theory as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings.” Bowlby believed that suggests infants are “biologically predisposed to form attachments with primary caregivers in early life.” The infant's means of attachment aids the infant in feeling more safe, secure and “increases their likelihood of survival.” Caregivers are a secure base. Harlow proposed the idea of contact comfort. The idea of contact comfort was shown with the rhesus monkey experiment. The monkeys were given two surrogate mothers, one of cloth and one of wire. Because of the cloths comfort, monkeys were most likely to be attached to that “mother”, even if the other “mother” of only wire was providing food. Harlow also concluded that if a monkey was isolated from their mother for a prolonged period of time that the monkey would show autistic characteristics. Ainsworth’s also made discoveries of her own when

Bowlby Attachment Theory states that that attachment was characterized by clear behavioral and motivation patterns. When children are frightened, they will seek proximity from their primary caregiver in order to receive both comfort and care. (Cherry, 2016). A 11 month girl just settled and get used to the room routines recently, she started exploring the curriculum within reaching distance by her primary caregiver. I tried to build relationship with her by engaging her in exploring the musical instrument. She was happy with my accompany and interaction. By accident, another child walked passing by and lost balance knocked on her, she was frightened and upset. I offer her a comfort cuddle while I was just next by, she refused and seeking a

Steven Mitchell Attachment Theory and the Psychoanalytic Tradition: Reflections on Human Relationality is an interesting article in that it highlights the importance of personal relationships and human interaction and explores the difference between Bowlby’s attachment theory and psychoanalysis. Both psychoanalysis and attachment theory has respective approaches regarding how one comes to understand human nature and the individual. His use of clinical vignette helps to solidify the idea of the transactional understanding of the patient therapist relationship. Mitchell approach draws from other major psychoanalytic theorists such as Fairbairn, Loewald, Sullivan, Winicott, and Bowlb.

Bowlby's Attachment Theory Findings form animal studies were a powerful influence on Bowlby's thoughts. He suggested too that there was a critical period for the development of attachments between infant and care giver. According to Bowlby infants display an innate tendency to become attached to one particular individual. He called this monotropy. He suggested this tendency was qualitatively different from any subsequent attachment a child might form.

According to Bowlby’s theory of attachment, bereavement of a loved one brings grief to family members and many families desire to give a decent send off to their loved ones (Gaines, 2016). Bowlby notes that due to the emotional attachment that people have with their loved ones, many families go an extra mile spend some substantial amounts of money on funerals as a sign of showing respect (Gaines, 2016). Funeral costs depend with whom the family is working with. If the family works with the funeral home for the planning of sendoff for their loved ones, the cost can be categorized into three namely: Basic services fee, cash advances and expenses for additional goods or services.

‘Mother’s love in infancy and childhood is as important to mental health as vitamins and proteins are to physical health’.

What makes us, us? We grew up being special kids, completing milestones or not, have great support systems or not. Does it take careful examination of the self to understand who we actually are or is it more simple? Personality development is extremely complex, but occurs simply in every day. It is through the life parables, birth place, and experiences that make us, us.

John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure,