Bowlby's Ethological Theory Of 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).

According to Ringel and Brandell (2012), Bowlby’s attachment theory was impacted by Spitz’s observation of abundant infants, Darwin’s evolutionary theory, and Harlow’s experiment with baby monkeys that were separated from their mothers (pp. 77-78). Bowlby’s conclusion is that infants’ basic survival needs are not just food and shelter but also love and nurturing (p. 78). Ringel and Brandell (2012), mention that from his work with children in orphanages and hospitals, Bowlby realized the influence of separation and loss on children’s development and the traumatic experiences is the base of attachment theory (p. 78).

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.

Bowlby worked for many years as a child psychoanalyst so was clearly very influenced by Freud’s theories and child development. However, he also liked the work of Lorenz on the innate nature of bonds through imprinting and combined these two very different ideas to produce his own evolutionary theory of attachments. Bowlby believed that attachment is innate and adaptive. We are all born with an inherited need to form attachments and this is to help us survive. In line with Darwin’s theory of natural selection, any behaviour that helps you

Bowlby said that early attachment was crucial to a child’s healthy mental development & this is a key part for how they build relationships later on in life. He said that children are influenced the most by the relationship with their primary carer (mainly mother). For the 1st 6 months of a babies life they have a need to attach to one main person. This is called the monotropic attachment. He also said that a child should be cared for by the same person for the first 2 years of their life as any kind of disruption would lead to lasting effects of their development. E.g. depression & antisocial behaviour. He then changes what he said and stated that children were capable of forming multiple attachments and it was important for them to build

Bowlby believed that babes had have built in social releasers that help form attachment, for example, crying and smiling. These would stimulate responses in caregivers. Bowlby also suggested that the infant would form only one primary attachment, and that this attachment would act as a secure base for exploring the world. This theory was also backed up by Mary Ainsworth ‘The Strange Situation’, Eysenck (2000). Another conclusion in Bowlbys attachment theory was that there was a sensitive period; a period were imprinting was important. This would affect attachment and have lifelong consequences. He

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

Precious is a movie based on the novel Push by Sapphire (Daniels and Fletcher, 2008). It is on the life of an illiterate 16 year old African American girl, Claireece “Precious” Jones. (Natividad, 2010). I have applied John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory and Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development on the film. These theories helped identify an understanding of the characters, family group, and community in the film. I have primarily assessed Precious as the chosen character. This paper will analyze the many factors in assessing her human behavior.

Bowlby’s attachment theory has four main points. The first point is that a child has a need to attach to one main figure. This figure is usually the mother and is more important than another attachment. The relationship between the two is different and unlike any other. Failure to have this relationship could lead to serious consequences including affectionless psychopathy. The second point is that the child should receive continuous care from this attachment for the first two years of their life. If the relationship is altered in anyway the child could suffer from serious issues such as long term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties. The third point talks about long term effect of maternal deprivation such as delinquency, reduced

John Bowlby was a psychoanalyst who felt that a child’s mental health and behavioral problems could be accredited to early childhood attachments. Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachments says that before children are born they are genetically pre-programmed to generate attachments with others. Infant’s behaviors such as crying, smiling or laughing stimulate responses from their caregiving adults. Bowlby suggests that the cause of attachment is not food/nutrition but they need for care and comfort. Typically the infant will only bond with one parent and form one primary attachment that will be the basis for all future attachments.

John Bowlby (1907 – 1990) was a British Psychoanalyst best known for his research into attachment formation and his development of Attachment Theory. Bowlby’s evolutionary theory states that if a secure and strong attachment is not formed between the mother or primary care giver during the first weeks of birth and up to the first 2 years of their lives then this may impact on the child later in life. He noted that babies who spent much of the early weeks and months physically close to their mothers seemed to settle down and develop a close relationship than babies separated from their mothers at birth. It can also be known as ‘bonding’.

* Bowlby’s ideas have had a great influence on the way researchers thought about attachment and much of the discussion of his theory has focused on his belief in monotropy. Although Bowlby may not dispute young children from multiple attachments, he still contends that the attachment to the mother is unique in this it is the first to appear and remains the strongest of all.

The chosen theory for this child scenario is John Bowlby’s theory of attachment. John Bowlby was a psychoanalyst who believed that mental health and behavioural problems could be linked with early childhood. Bowlby’s (1969) theory of attachment suggests that children come into world biologically ready to form attachments with others, as this will help them survive. According to Bowlby (1980), attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another, a secure attachment being characterised by intimacy, emotional security and physical safety. The attachment theory describes the complexity of long-term relationships between humans, and explains how much the parents relationship with the child influences development. Bowlby (1969) states that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional

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.

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,