John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

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.

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.

In the late 1960’s John Bowlby created the attachment theory. The attachment theory is a concept in developmental psychology, which in personal development concerns the importance of attachment. Specifically, it makes the claim that the ability for an individual to form an emotional and physical attachment to another person. It gives a sense of ability and security necessary to take risks, to branch out, to grow, and develop a personality. The attachment theory is mainly focused on long-term relationships and bonds, particularly between a parent and child.

“Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space”. (Ainsworth,1973 – Bowlby, 1969).

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

Bowlby is considered to be the Father of Attachment Theory. He believed infants have a biological predisposition to form attachments with others because they depend on others to fulfill their needs for survival. He also believed attachment instinct could be activated by various threats, such as fear and separatism. This instinct is activated because primary caregivers allow infants to develop a sense of security and secure base for the infants to explore the world. The attachment theory developed when Bowlby sought better understanding of attachment through other fields such as evolutionary biology, ethology, developmental psychology, and cognitive science.

Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment hypothesizes that when children come into the world they are already biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, due to survival skills. He claimed that caregiver attachments has profound implications for child’s security and capacity to form trusting relationship. There are four phases; Preattachment phase (birth - 6 weeks) attachment in making (6 weeks - 6 to 8 months) clear cut attachment (6 to 8 months to 18months to 2 years) and formation of reciprocal relationship ( 18 months to 2 years on.) Ainsworth’s strange situation theory is theory of attachment. She observed the attachment relationships between a caregiver and a child. There are four types of attachment: secure, insecure-ambivalent,

An example of an extreme nature theorist is Bowlby (1969) and his theory of attachment. Bowlby believed that all mental health and behavioural problems could be linked to early childhood health.

There are many theories in regards to early infant attachment and subsequent development. One very common theory is John Bowlby’s theory, which describes the special relationship that develops over the first year of life between infants and the people who care for them (Gross, 2011). Bowlby’s theory focuses on the assumption that early life experiences will in advertently affect one’s development. Internal working models, coined by Bowlby, are defined as infants’ cognitive abilities increase and enable infants to form a representation of their relationship with the caregiver. Applying this theory, an infant uses memorable experiences, both negative and/or positive, to develop their relationship with a person. For example, if an infant experiences

Ethology was first applied to research on children in the 1960s. It has become more influential in recent years and is concerned with the adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and its evolutionary history (Hinde, 1989). The origins of ethology can be traced to the work of Darwin. Its modern foundations were founded by two European zoologists, Lorenz and Tinbergen (Dewsbury, 1992). Watching the behaviors of animal species in their natural habitats, Lorenz and Tinbergen observed behavioral patterns that promote survival. The most well known of these is imprinting, the early following behavior of certain baby birds that ensures that the young will stay close to the mother, and be fed, and protected from danger. Observations by

The loss of a mother can have a significance bearing upon a young child’s wellbeing and experiences, and can cause physiological stress (Bowlby. 1988). The client stated that she had experienced a lack of being able to associate with others. This led to isolation because of her grief. However the need for counselling was not fully understood due to her religious affiliation.

Attachment theory is the work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth joined together. “Ainsworth worked with Bowlby, extending his ideas by looking at different types of atatchments as well as considering issues such as sensitive parenting”. Bowlby proposed the theory of attachment in a series of publications from the 1940 to the 1980s. “Attachment theory is rooted in the ethological notion that a newborn child is biologically programmed to seek proximity with caregivers, and this proximity-seeking behavior is naturally-selected”

Edward John Mostyn Bowlby (“John Bowlby”) was a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who was known best for his development of the attachment theory. Bowlby was born in 1907 as the fourth of six children of upper-class family in London, England. His father, Sir Anthony Bowlby, was a surgeon and his mother, May Bridget Mostyn, was a housewife who enjoyed her prominent status in the women’s scene locally. May and Anthony had a tumultuous beginning to their marriage, largely because after getting married the two lived in separate cities due to Anthony’s work. After giving birth to their first child, May decided to leave her infant in the care of a nanny while she went to visit her husband for six months. This was the first act of separation any of the Bowlby children would experience, which later became a common theme in the household.

ATTACHMENT THEORY- This theory was given by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. This theory talks about a child’s attachment patterns with his primary caregivers like his mother or father. A child in his initial years needs a safe and a secure environment to feel comfortable and relaxed. To become an independent, confident and a strong individual who has the capacity to deal with day to day challenges a child should have a functional and a stable bond with his parents. A child with a dysfunctional childhood can become aggressive, dependent and hesitant. All these factors are emerged from separation anxiety. When a parent especially the mother is not available emotionally or physically for the child the child feels threatened and this can lead