Everyone forms attachments. Starting with parents, to friends and even animals. It is the emotional bond between two people, usually between the caregiver and infant. A process that takes time, which leads to specific behavioural activities like clinging and proximity-seeking. According to John Bowlby, a British researcher, all these attachments made throughout life can be traced back to the right kind of maternal presence had during the first three years of life, also known as the critical period. Bowlby explains that the relationship with mothers play a crucial role in the behavioural development of a child and can determine the ability to make healthy relationships in the future. With his Monotropic Attachment Theory he explains that attachment is innate. It is a biological need that has evolved for survival. His idea of monotropy suggests, that an infant forms a primary attachment figure, which is one special attachment, usually with the mother. This relationship provides a foundation for the child´s future relationships. The social releaser, like smelling; which are innate contribute to this attachment. Bowlby suggests that those who miss that critical period of attachment have problems forming attachment in the future. Bowlby also believes …show more content…
The harm brought to these animals is clear but can be justified by the delivered knowledge of the development of attachment. The results found are impossible though to generalize to human beings, despite having similarities to the monkeys it is still quite different. The monkeys of the experiment, however, have later shown significant difficulties to interact with other monkeys, which can be seen as unethical. In addition, the fact that they were in isolation and not in their natural environment makes the experiment less valid, and so less reliable. Nowadays these kind of experiments would be much more difficult, since they are restricted by ethical