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Bowlby Attachment Theory Essay

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One of the main theories in Developmental psychology is the attachment theory that was devised by Bowlby (1969) and was added to in 1973, by Mary Ainsworth. The attachment theory surrounds the bond between a primary care giver and a baby. They believe that attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space. In 1930 Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in a children’s unit, where he treated many emotionally disturbed children, this lead him to consider the relationship between mother and child and the impact that could have on the child’s development. Bowlby believed that the attachment process was an all or nothing process and that you either were attached or were not attached. In the 1950’s …show more content…

The babies were visited monthly and the carers were also observed and interviewed. A diary was also kept by the primary care giver (usually the mother) three measure were recorded. The first was stranger anxiety – the response to the arrival of a stranger, the second was separation anxiety – the distress levels when separated from the career and the degree of comfort upon their return and finally social referencing – the degree that the child looks at the carer to check how they should respond to something new (this is referred to as secure base). They discovered that a baby’s attachment follows in this sequence. • 0-6 weeks – Asocial – babies are Asocial in that many types of stimuli, both non-social and social, produce a favourable reaction such as a smile. • 6 weeks – 7 months – Indiscriminate Attachment – most babies respond equally to any caregiver and they get upset when the caregiver no longer interacts with them. From 3 months they will smile more at familiar faces and can be easily comforted by a regular care giver. • 7 -9 months - Specific attachment- babies will look to a particular person for security, comfort and protection, it will show fear of a stranger and unhappiness when separated from the special person. Some babies would show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more than

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Attachment theory states that either secure or insecure bonds may form between infant and mother in the first several months of the infant’s life for the purposes of safety and security. The bond formed between infant and mother influences the quality of the relationships a child has throughout his or her life. One major reasoning of the attachment theory is that the parents are a sanctuary of safety throughout all of early childhood. Insecure attachments promote feelings of threat, rejection, and personal unworthiness. This can also be the explanation for the dream children stashing food away because of the possible threat that there,” will come a time when they will not be fed” (Smith 99).Unhealthy attachments not only lead to poor caregiver-child relationships, but can also cause a dysfunctional self-development, defective relationships, substance abuse problems, and educational difficulties.

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The secure babies used their mothers as a base to explore and as a protective safe haven. They were upset when the caregivers left but when they returned, they brought safety to the baby. Babies who had an avoidant attachment, didn’t want their caregiver upon return to the room. The caregivers for these babies may have been unresponsive to their signals of distress. Some babies were also classified as having resistant attachments, and tried kicking or arching their backs when comforted by the caregiver.

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Bowlby, Harlow, and Ainsworth each had unique positions on infant attachment and adult relationships. All three researchers pointed out that children become attached or unattached depending on the amount and type of love and affection they receive from birth. Each had a different way of creating their study. Harlow used baby monkeys taken from their mothers and replacing mom with either a metal or a terry cloth covered mom.

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Although we are studying theories, some of them appear to explain human behavior and personality with certain accuracy. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth theories of attachment can also explain what happens to people when attachment to their parents or caregivers is healthy or potential problems that could occur due to detachments. They suggest that individuals raised with secure attachments to their primary caregivers help them to feel secure; moreover, these children appear to be more socially skilled and less likely to experience major emotional disturbances. However, failure to form healthy attachments, especially mother-child, could serve as a descriptive mechanism for many negative psychological outcomes later in the life of an individual,

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The attachment theory of John Bowlby has had an enduring impact on our understanding of child development. This study of Bowlby’s attachment theory allows us to understand more thoroughly how society and culture in constructing child rearing practices have a profound impact not only on the child but on the entire learning life of that individual. Attachment theory provides us with a lifelong learning project that brings together deep psychological patterns. Knowing that Bowlby does not do justice to the social and cultural factors that impact on development. At the core of a critical adult learning theory it is necessary to imagine how the cultures and societies, in which we live, interact with and influence the ways in which people relate

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Babies are born with an innate ability to learn and their brain to develop after birth. The neural pathways of a human’s brain are built based on their early experience in the world. A baby’s world is based on how they are treated by people in it therefore if the environment is scary then the baby will be reluctant to explore, as demonstrated n Bowlby’s and Ainsworth’s attachment theory. The brain and body become wired enough to understand what is safe and what should be feared. The birth to 3 years of a child’s life is a critical period for the brain during child development and any deprivation during this will result in persistent deficits in cognitive, emotional and even physical health.

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In 1969, John Bowlby made the connection that formed relationships and attachments to caregivers contributes to future development and growth. The attachment theory focuses on relationship association between caregivers and their children. Children who established a foundation with a caregiver despite their biological relation, gain much needed support. Establishing support, encourages a child’s development. The comfort of safety, allows children to feel secure in taking risks (Groman, 2012).

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This test observed patterns in the infants’ experiences of separation and reunion with their mother, and their reaction to a stranger, in order to evaluate the type of attachment relationship the infant shared with their mother (Ainsworth, 1978). Ainsworth found a significant consistency between the mothers’ interactive styles and the reactions of the infants. The results of this test led Ainsworth to classify the behaviours into three main categories. She identified the infants to have secure attachment, or one of two forms of insecure attachment, avoidant or ambivalent (Music,

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Moreover, the correlation strongly exits between children's attachments with caregivers and future mental and behavioural issues (Huber, 2016 & Kaywork, 2020). The theory points out the importance of consistent interactional patterns between young children and caregiver as it builds up young children's brain analysation mode, which strongly relates to children's capabilities in developing thoughts, emotions, self-identity, and expectations. At birth, relationship starts to form through infants attach to their caregivers. Between infant and caregivers, needs and communications of an infant are the key to form attachments (Kearns, 2020). In studies (Kaywork, 2020), infants who are consistently being interacted with and comforted by caregivers have a greater tendency to establish constancy and autonomy.

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Bowlby 's attachment theory had vast investigation done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the interactions between mother and child, specifically, the theme of an infant’s investigation of their surroundings and the separation from their mother. This essay will focus on Bowlby’s attachment theory and Mary Ainsworth’s experiments and findings, discussing their views on the development and importance of attachment in early life. John Bowlby’s primary interest was in the relationship between child and mother or primary caregiver. Bowlby suspected that the earliest relationships formed by children and their primary parent or care giver, have huge impacts on the child’s later life. From this, Bowlby developed the attachment theory.

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A human baby is born with poorly developed sight and is unable to move. As a consequence to this he is vulnerable and is completely dependent on a carer for survival (Winston, 2003). To improve the chances of survival, the baby is born with pre-programmed and automatic behaviour which are prompted by environmental factors (Bergen, 2008). Bowlby theorised that when a young child feels distressed, frightened or confused, attachment behaviour is triggered and this serves to bring the child closer to their mother* who provides the desired comfort, care and protection (Bowlby,

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When the mother returns, the infant pushes the mother away or is avoidant to the mother. Infants with avoidant attachment do not feel distressed when the mother leaves, is interactive with the stranger, and shows

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Through factors such as cognitive development of the infant, attentive care and intimate interactions with a primary caregiver, the attachment relationship is created – shaping the infants- caregiver bond. By examining the interactions between an infant and their primary caregiver, we can identify secure, insecure and disorganized attachment (Ainsworth, 1978; Cassidy 1994); which can reveal a great deal about the relationship between the infant and attachment figure. Overall, the quality of attachment bonds formed in the early years can have long lasting effects on an infant’s emotional security and social competence; not only shaping their ability to form relationships, but laying the foundations for the social, emotional and mental development of the

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Attachment theory is a critical area of research in developmental psychology that investigates the impact of early attachment experiences on long-term development. John Bowlby's attachment theory emphasises the significance of early attachment relationships in shaping individuals' future relationships and emotional development. This essay will explore Bowlby's attachment theory and its implications for child-care arrangements and future relationships. The following sections will discuss the definition of attachment and the important assumptions of attachment theory. Specifically, early attachment experiences shape the development of interpersonal relationships, influence emotional regulation and coping skills, and secure attachment leads to

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Developmental Milestones Developmental Milestones are a set of functional skills which most of the children can perform at a certain age. Every milestone has a certain age limit. Some may achieve it early and some may do it a bit late as every child is unique. Premature babies achieve these milestones slightly late as compared to their healthier counterparts. You might also like: My top 6 learning toys for 0-12 month olds

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