Bowlby's Attachment Theory And Attachment

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).

John Bowlby developed his Attachment Theory to examine and explore the contextual relationships between a child and their caregiver and their behavioral repercussions. He describes it is “a way of conceptualizing the propensity of human beings to make strong affectional bonds to particular others and of explaining the many forms of emotional distress and personality disturbance, including anxiety, anger, depression, and emotional detachment, to which unwilling separation and loss give rise” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 127). An infant’s attachment to their primary caregiver establishes a sense of security, through protection, so the infant is able to explore the world with confidence and without threat and risk. During a child’s

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.

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.

Very early will a child will attach to its caregiver, “because she fed the infant”(McLeod). At this stage the parent's behavior is becoming imprinted onto the child, and the child will continue to see their parent as their primary caregiver, and therefore, their role model as well. Bowlby’s theory of attachment relates strongly to the social learning theory. They both deal with people, whether it be infant or adult, learning and conforming to certain roles placed upon them. The infant will almost ‘study’ the parent, learning the rules the parent puts in place, and the adult will look to the majority as their parent, and conforms to their beliefs.

After the death of my husband, I have watched my children grapple with grief. At times it seems as if they are in a tug-of-war with God. Losing a loved one has always been a part of life and eventually everyone will go through a time when they will have to grapple with grief. The death of a father at any age can be devastating, but when children lose their father at a young age their feelings of security disappear. If children lose their attachment to their father they are left wondering if they can even trust to put that attachment somewhere else due to the fear of losing it again. Children grieve differently than adults.

Bowlby’s attachment theory has significant and practical implications for education, human service workers, teachers and administrators while observing young children at risk of delinquency. This can be informing teachers and administrators the importance of attachment levels, as well as training them how to raise attachment levels. Teachers and administrators need to understand that attachment, crime, and developmental success are interconnected. The students must become attached before any other academic or disciplinary advances can be made (Boyle, 2014).

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

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.

Susanna starts her journey when her parents sent her to a therapist because of her fatal suicide. The doctor concluded Susanna with: “Severe depression and hopelessness and suicidal ideas” (Kaysen 13) which sent her to McLean Hospital. Some may claim that Susanna’s parents made the right choice of sending her to McLean since she was depressed and tried to commit suicide it would be the only rational explanation for her parents to do. Susanna did needed help however her parents were selfish and imprudent. This was during the 1960s, and Susanna parents were wealthy, respected, and diplomatic people.

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

In this assignment I aim to show some of the common approaches in psychology, which aim to answer the above question.

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,

Bowlby's attachment theory proposes that the teens are born biologically pre-programmed to frame connections with others, since this will help them to survive. Bowlby was particularly impacted by ethological hypothesis when all is said in done, yet particularly by Lorenz's (1935) investigation of engraving. Lorenz demonstrated that connection was inborn and consequently has a survival esteem. Bowlby trusted that connection practices are instinctual and will be actuated by any conditions that appear to undermine the accomplishment of closeness, for example, partition, uncertainty and

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory can be used to explain the child’s behaviour (withdrawn, less competent, fearful, dependent) regarding the absence and return of each parent. In both cases, the child displayed insecure attachment .