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Analysis Of John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

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This essay will explore what attachment theory is and its implications for the social and emotional world of the child and also highlight one of the government policy that supports positive parent and child relationships. FORMATION OF ATTACHMENT John Bowlby (1907-1990) was a British Psychiatrist who originally highlighted the important of a a child’s attachment relationship. He was influenced by the theory of ethology and the study of imprinting by Lorenze (1935). Used ducklings to prove that attachment was innate and has survival value. Other theorist also emphasis on the reason children are attached to their caregivers. The theory shows the important of a child parent relationship and how it affect a child’s development. The theory came about from observing baby developing attachment to primary …show more content…

According to Bowlby (1969) attachment is a” lasting psychological connectedness between human beings. he argues that babies are born innate that needs to attach to a human figure. The foundation of attachment starts from the mother’s womb, hear her voice and this make a baby nurtured and comforted. According to Ainsworth attachment (1979), Attachment is “an crucial part of the ground plan of the human species for an infant to become attached to a mother figure”. FORMATION OF ATTACHMENT Attachment develops gradually in a space of time rather than suddenly. Schaffer,(1996) highlight the phases based on Bowlby’s conceptualisation of attachment. Phase 1: this is from when babies are born till they are two months. At this stage baby cry, smile to parents or non-parents. Phase 2: from 2 months to 7 months. The attachment begins to develop whereby the infant focus on one caregiver and they are able to different known faces to unfamiliar ones. Phase 3: from 7 months to 24 months at this stage the infant develops a constant attachment to a primary care giver mostly the

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Ainsworth Attachment Theory

554 Words | 3 Pages

(Carpenter and Huffman, 2013 p.278) In her studies of infants, she placed the mother in a room with the child (securely attached), then introduced a stranger to the child(anxious/ambivalent), then the mother would leave the room leaving the stranger with the child(anxious/avoidant), then mother would return (disorganized/disoriented attachment). Observations of the child's reactions towards the mother and stranger in each of these segments were analyzed. From this, Ainsworth was able to conclude the bonding the child had toward their mother. The more attached the child, the more they responded to the mother coming and going, either by clinging, crying or following.

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Comparing John Bowlby And Mary Ainsworth's Theories

307 Words | 2 Pages

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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Comparing Bowlby And Ainsworth's Attachment Theory

686 Words | 3 Pages

The works of British psychologist, psychoanalyst, and psychiatrist John Bowlby, and Canadian developmental psychologist Mary Ainsworth revolutionized the idea of attachment. Bowlby came up with the basic ideas on child attachment and their ties to the caregiver, and Ainsworth developed the way we test the attachment of infants in a observational measure she coined the “The strange situation”. This test is now an accepted way of assessing and measuring an infant’s level of attachment to the primary caregiver. The idea of attachment explains how the first close relationship an infant has can have lifelong implications and affect the quality of all other relationships (Fitton, V.A. 2012). Both Bowlby and Ainsworth’s research tried to reveal and

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Erikson Attachment Theory

800 Words | 4 Pages

Theories (Erikson & Attachment) According to Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, trust vs. mistrust, occurs in the first year of life. Erikson believed that the caregiver’s response to the infant’s cries help them develop a sense of trust, when the caregiver responds right away to the infant’s distress of crying or fussing (Mooney, 2000). Erikson believed that in the earliest years of life, mainly during infancy, patterns of trust or mistrust are formed that control, or at least influence, a person’s actions or interactions for the rest of life (Erikson, 1950). Bowlby hypothesized that children are born with a predisposition to be attached to caregivers and that children will organize their behavior and thinking in order to maintain those relationships (Bettmann, 2006).

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Cycle Of Attachment Theory Essay

1503 Words | 7 Pages

Attachment theory is based on results from research, from observational studies completed by theorist such as Bowlby, Ainsworth and James and Joyce Robertson; it’s a framework for understanding the nature of creating secure bonds that develop between children and those who care for them. The theory focuses majorly on relationships during early stages of a child’s life, and the impact the relationship bonds have on the emotional development and mental health of the child as

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Summary Of John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

339 Words | 2 Pages

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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Peekaboo, Hide-And Seek Analysis

1650 Words | 7 Pages

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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Bowlby Attachment Theory Essay

890 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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What´s Attachment Theory?

218 Words | 1 Pages

What is attachment theory? Attachment theory is based on findings from empirical research, from observational studies and from clinical examples; it’s a framework for understanding the nature of the enduring family bonds that develop between children and their parents - their attachment figures. The theory focuses mainly on relationships during early childhood, and the impact that these have on the emotional development and mental health of children as they grow up. Babies and toddlers have a powerful survival reaction to sense danger whenever they are in unfamiliar places and have no access to an attachment figure, preferably to their primary attachment figure (who is usually but not necessarily their biological mother). This sense of danger

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Why Is Attachment Important In Early Life

1135 Words | 5 Pages

The importance of attachment in early life cannot be emphasized enough. Over the last century or so this has been recognized as one of, if not the most significant stage of development in a human being's life. With the aid of works from noted theorists such as Bowlby, Ainsworth, Harlow, and Main, this paper will focus on attachment and its many effects and influences from infancy to death and even carrying on through future generations. Attachment theory originated from the research of psychoanalyst John Bowlby. Bowlby spent time working as a psychiatrist in London in the 1930s where he worked with orphaned children.

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Essay On Attachment Theory

785 Words | 4 Pages

Since the ‘50s, Bowlby worked alone and with distinguished colleagues such as psychoanalyst James Robertson, ethologist/zoologist Robert Hinde and psychologist Mary Ainsworth on several different studies. Bowlby suggested that due to the attachment between children and their carers, children suffer loss when they are separated. Bowlby’s study with the ethologist Robert Hinde, inspired the idea that certain attachment behaviours have evolved as a survival mechanism (Bergen, 2008). The core of the theory today is that the quality of close relationships affects personality, emotional and social development not only in childhood but throughout the life of the individual (Howe, 2001). This suggests that attachment theory is effectively a biological, psychological and social theory of human development.

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Sigmund Freud's Theory Of Attachment

1810 Words | 8 Pages

The experiment was done in a room with a one way glass to observe the infant. Different situations were given to the infant to determine the infant’s attachment style, the mother of the infant would leave the room and the infant would be left with the experimenter or the experimenter would leave the room and leave the mother and infant alone. How the infant reacts to the situation is used to determine the attachment style of the infant. Infants with secure attachment style would be distressed every time the mother would leave, the infant avoids the stranger when the mother leaves and when the mother returns the infant becomes happier. Infants with ambivalent attachment attachment style get distressed whenever the mother leaves, and avoids the stranger when left alone.

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Family Attachment Theory Essay

456 Words | 2 Pages

This can result in a more in-depth understanding, and the appropriate intervention. However, there are limitations to attachment theory such as the traditional gendered application, the focus on the family system, and the limited consideration about the person’s wider environment. Firstly, there is the possibility of the misapplication of attachment theory, this is due to the ability to place blame on the mother.

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Essay On Attachment In Early Life

1137 Words | 5 Pages

Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional

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The Importance Of Social Development

826 Words | 4 Pages

(Flood, E., C., Hardy 2013:103) As outlined earlier, attachment theory is a concept in developmental psychology that concerns the importance of attachment in regards to personal, social and emotional development in children. Specifically, it is a privilege that, the ability for an individual to form an emotional and physical attachment to another person gives a sense of stability and security necessary to take risks, grow and develop good personality. Naturally, attachment theory is a broad idea with many expressions, and the best understanding of it can be had by looking at several of those expressions in

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