John Bowlby's Theories of Attachment Theory

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 emphasised the significance of the mother-child bond, particularly in the first 3 years of a child’s life. If this relationship was unsatisfactory or if separation occurred during this crucial period, Bowlby asserted that serious psychological problems could ensure. This theory is called – attachment theory- and one does not have to fully support the psychoanalytical tradition to hold the view that, their things being equal, children appear to benefit in there is continuity in upbringing, especially during the early years. (Berridge, D., Cleaver, 1987, p

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.

Psychologists realized that the first few years of a child 's life are vital to their personality and behavioral development. One of the most critical qualities of a child 's development is the child 's relationship with their caregiver. From determining a child 's early attachment patterns, it can help further the child 's behavior in later development, and the way the child will relate to others in her years to come. The acknowledgment of this simple fact has led many psychologists to create theories and findings to support this idea. Bowlby’s creation of the Attachment Theory sparked many famous psychologists to come up with ways to support his theory. Mary Ainsworth is known to be most famous for her “Strange Situation” procedure, which determined how attached a child is with their caregiver (usually the mother).

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.

Attachment theory refers to the strong, enduring, emotional and reciprocal bond between two people especially between the infant and primary caregiver. The caregiver could be the mother, grand parents, father, aunty, uncle and so on. . According to Maccoby (1980) attachment has four key characteristics including proximity; where the infant desires to stay close to the person they are attached to, separation anxiety; where if the infant is separated from the caregiver may lead to distress; pleasure; where the infant and caregiver feel pleasure when reunited and finally frequent contact where the infant is aware of the caregiver and seeks to be in contact with them always. This essay will cover an analysis of attachment theory in terms of nativist and empiricist debates, an evaluation of Bowlby's research theory of attachment in terms of childcare and later development and evaluation of studies into maternal privation and deprivation.

Attachment theory “is one of the complex influences on children’s development and the emotional, behavioural and social difficulties” (Payne, 2016, 43). Another limitation is attachment focuses on the mother as being “the primary attachment figure, when in fact, a father or sibling can have the same types of attachment with the infant at the same time” (Lee, (n.d.)). Due to the critique of attachment theory, it is difficult to know whether or not attachment will affect the child even as an

C1: ‘John Bowlby believed that relationships are key to meeting the emotional needs of young children’ (Taylor et al, 2012 pg19). Bowlby’s believes that children will need a strong attachment with their primary care giver as it will help children to be emotionally confident in adulthood. He also developed an attachment theory, this suggests that children and young people need a strong and stable relationship with their primary career. As the young person will be receiving one to one key worker, it is important that you follow Bowlby's theory. Following Bowlby's will help to make sure a positive relationships is created and the young person can feel comfortable with their key worker.

Technology has taken over our lives and we are constantly being distracted. According to Jana Brech, teachers have noticed that attention spans of children are getting shorter as they opt for screen based activities over regular reading. Their attachment style may also play a role in how much they pay attention to given assignments. As a result, technology can be affecting college student’s attention span and their attachment style may have a role on who pays more attention. John Bowlby came up with an attachment theory in 1969, he proposed the emotional bond between a child and their primary caregiver which has an affect on the child’s psychological development shaping their personality and the way they will cope.

Attachment theories look at the different ways in which children form attachments to others, usually their primary carer. This bond is usually formed very early on by a baby becoming attached to the adult who feed’s, changes and comforts them. John Bowlby’s believed that this primary carer did not have to be the child’s natural mother, but that they did need one central person. As a result of a close bond with their primary carer, from the age of 5 or 6 months, children who are separated from them experience emotions of loss and grief. Bowlbys findings have brought about many changes. It was this research that led to the introduction of the key worker system. Many Early Years settings have a settling in policy to help children during their

An attachment is a strong emotional connection in which animals, and people, depend on each other for a sense of security. Attachment is not always reciprocal and is characterized by specific behaviours in children such as seeking proximity to the attachment figure when upset or threatened (Bowlby 1969.) Within the context of child psychology, attachment is the strong bond which forms in early years of life between babies and their primary carers. This concept helps explain development and personality.

For years, psychologists have studied the behaviours of infants when in close proximity of their attachment figures, which has developed our understanding of attachment as being a deep emotional bond formed between a child and their primary caregiver. The type of attachment a child develops is regulated by social input from their caregiver, in response to their signals of distress. This can affect our social self-esteem and thus influence our behaviour in subsequent close relationships (Cassidy, 1988 cited in Hazan and Shaver, 1994). This essay will introduce a very influential theory of attachment and how this has led to three distinct classifications, each of which will be discussed, using evidence of the long term effects these have had when forming social

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,

Their primary caregivers were their nannies and nurse maids, and the children spent most days on the top floor of their home in the nursery, with no interaction from their parents except to see their mother for an hour per day after tea time and to see their father usually only on Sundays (John Bowlby, from psychoanalysis to ethology, pg 6). John’s primary and favorite caregiver was his nursemaid, Minnie, who took care of him daily. However, Minnie left the Bowlby family when John was only four years old. This event is considered one of the first and most important life challenges that later encouraged Bowlby to study parental abandonment and develop the attachment theory. Bowlby later would state that, “for a child to be looked after entirely by a loving nanny and then for her to leave when he is two or three or even four or five, can be almost as tragic as the loss of a mother” (The shadow of the second mother, pg