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John Bowlby's Attachment Theory Essay

875 Words4 Pages

Yes, It’s Your Parents’ Fault Kate Murphy writes about how British psychoanalyst John Bowlby’s attachment theory is growing popular in schools and business’ around the country. This psychological model called attachment theory shows how our intimate relationships shape how we live our lives. Attachment theory is a psychological model that attempts to describe the dynamics of long and short-term relationships between humans. According to Murphy, at least 40-50% of babies are insecurely attached due to their caregivers being distracted, overbearing, dismissive, unreliable, absent or threatening. People can fall into four attachment categories: secure, insecure-anxious, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-disorganized. Through a test known as the “strange situation”, thousands of …show more content…

They are quickly soothed after being in contact with them. Insecure-anxious children may give the same reaction as secure children, but after their caregiver has returned they are not. Even though their heart rate and stress hormone levels may be very high, insecure-avoidant children will not express distress outwardly, and will not act interested when their caregiver returns. This may be because they are used to being ignored or rejected by their caregiver, or because their caregivers tend to be overbearing and smother them with too much attention. Insecure-disorganized children have an illogical or erratic response and this usually due to having a caregiver who was abusive or threatening. This is important because, by the end of our first year as a child, we already have an idea what relationships are supposed to look because of what we observe from our parents, and this reflects on how we handle relationships as adults. Insecure-anxious adults are often overly dramatic to gain attention and obsessive with their relationships. Insecure-avoidant adults are slow to warm up and be personal in their relationships and may leave if they are going too well because

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