Furthermore, there are few weaknesses that Bowlby`s attachment theory displays. For instance, his theory promotes the idea that attachment behaviour has evolved therefore the child`s development presents good face validity. But he fails to take into consideration that these evolutionary ideas he proposes are seen as outdated and not universal to today’s modern society. Secondly, the theory is viewed as gender bias because it emphasises on the role of the mother being the caregiver. There is a research that has shown within two parent families, the father `s involvement in the quality of attachment can play major role in the child’s behaviour and development (Grossman & Grossman,…
This essay will describe and evaluate Bowlby’s theory of attachment and maternal deprivation hypothesis. The essay will describe the two theories, weighing up the strengths and the weaknesses. It will include supporting research by Shaffer and Emerson, Ainsworth and Harlow, along with criticisms by Rutter.…
Looking over a couple theories that related to Chris and his family, it seemed like attachment theory fit best. I believe that attachment theory is best for Chris because he had that secure attachment with his mom that allowed him branch out and do something completely unexpected of him. He knew that if anything went wrong he had someone there who had his back, which was his mom and sister. That knowledge of security allowed him to go on this journey and experience the unknown. Attachment theory, established by John Bowlby, is a set a concepts that are used to explain the emergence of the emotional bond that forms between an infant and their primary caregiver. It then goes on to explore that way in which the bond affects the child’s emotional…
Humans are social beings and need to be with others and form relationships but our relationship behaviors do not "come naturally" and they need to be learned similar to other social skills (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2005, p.77). Many psychologists argue that the kind of relationships infants have with their primary caregivers is the blueprint for the later life relationships (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2005). Behaviors in adult relationships' are influenced by the kinds of relationships and attachments they have experienced in their early years with their primary caregivers. This is the basic perspective of the theory of attachment styles that claims that the kind of bonds we form early in life influence…
Bowlby also suggests that there is a best time to form an attachment, this is called the sensitive period where infants are most sensitive to development of attachments and Bowlby would suggest that this is when the child is 3-6 months old. However, attachment can still take place at other times but it becomes increasingly difficult. Attachment acts as a secure base for exploration, which influences independence rather than dependence. Bowlby argues that infants form a single special attachment with one particular attachment figure, usually the mother. This is called monotropy. Other attachments may develop in a hierarchy. An infant may therefore have a primary monotropy attachment to its mother, and below her the hierarchy of attachments might include its father, siblings, grandparents, etc. Another key feature of Bowlby’s theory is that the infant develops an internal working model of relationships that guides relationship behaviour as an older child and an adult. This leads to the continuity hypothesis…
Many researchers have studied attachment; however, John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth are the researchers responsible for the origination of the attachment theory, therefore also becoming catalysts for the research of attachment in the late eighteenth century. Attachment, as defined by Ainsworth, is “‘an affectional tie’ that an infant forms with a caregiver—a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time” (Berger, 2014, p. 142). Furthermore, as described in Berger, the attachment theory assesses the behaviors associated with four identified types of infant attachment. These four types include secure, insecure-resistant/ambivalent, insecure avoidant, and disorganized attachment. Berger defines each of these types as follows: securely…
Ainsworth observations, `the strange situation` procedure highlight emotional bond that connects mother/infant, she believed, much like Bowlby 1969(Farrington-Flint 2014 p 77) that responding sensitively and appropriately to the child’s requirement, such behaviour appears universal across cultures. Attachment theory provides an explanation of how the parent/child relationship materializes and influences development, this is supported by Psychologist Bowlby, Harlow, Lorenz theories of attachments. Bowlby also suggested a child forms one primary attachment initially, acting as a model for all future social relationships towards others, peers and personal relationships so disrupting it can have consequences. Whereas John Watson (Farrington-Flint 2014 p 133) proposed through the process of conditioning, explaining aspects of attachments though patterns of stimulus and reaction. The nature via nurture debate continues, and appears that a mixture of both enhances attachments. However the question remains can attachments if delayed be rebuilt over time of which it can but with some consequences as seen in The Open University (2014) ‘Feral children’ which focus on nature/nurture factors in cases such as feral children, Romanian orphans, highlighting extreme…
This research set out to evaluate the ‘Attachment Theory’ which is central to Child Practitioners working with Looked after Children. The ‘Social Care Institute for Excellence’ (SCIE) was established by the Government in 2001 to improve Social Services for Adults &…
Bowlby’s career started off in the medical direction as he was following in his surgeon father’s footsteps. Bowlby studied psychology and pre-clinical sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge, winning prizes for outstanding intellectual performance. After Cambridge, he worked with maladjusted and delinquent children until, at the age of twenty-two, he enrolled at University College Hospital in London. At twenty-six, he qualified in medicine. While still in medical school, he enrolled himself in the Institute for Psychoanalysis. Following medical school, he trained in adult psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital. In 1936, aged 30, he qualified as a psychoanalyst. Bowlby studied several children during his time working in world war two at the Canonbury clinic, and developed a research project based on case studies of the children’s behaviours and family histories. Bowlby examined 44 delinquent children from Canonbury who had a history of stealing and compared them to controls from Canonbury that were being treated for various reasons but did not have a history of stealing.One of Bowlby’s main findings through…
Bowlby 's maternal deprivation hypothesis assumes that continual disruption of the attachment bond between the infant and primary caregiver would result in long term cognitive, social and emotional difficulties for the child.…
In 1950s psychology was mainly leaded by the behaviourists, their belief was that humans were motivated because of their primary needs like obtain hunger, thirst, avoid pain and satisfy sexual needs. Harry Harlow changed it all. He refused to accept that affection and love are less important and his paper “The nature of love” became bestseller among others. Harlow has said that ”Love is wondrous state, deep, tender, and rewarding“ (American Psychologist, p.673, 1958) and his experiments have been dedicated to prove that. A decade later Mary Ainsworth was still trying to prove this theory in practice. Today we can say that they both are mainly responsible for our understanding of attachment. Harlow and Ainsworth researched attachment from different angles and used different techniques; however there were lots of similarities as well. To contrast and compare their works, I will use and point out some of them.…
Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby presents a set of organizing principles for understanding various facets of human psychological aspects. The theory offers a wide spectrum, which encompasses comprehensive theoretical paradigm for understanding diversities amongst relationships. Bowlby rejecting the old theories of attachment highlighted that attachment is not merely an internal drive to satisfy some need. This paper will focus on the seminal work and the principles on which the attachment theory is based. A spin-off theory derived from the original concept is also presented at the end.…
The statement from Te whāriki talks about the goal of children establishing different types of relationships, one theory that underpins a good relationship between the child and teacher is Bowlby and Ainsworth’s idea about attachment. By children having secure attachment relationships with parents, relatives and child care providers it “allows children the chance to develop an internal model of security about the world and, and allow their minds to develop a sense of emotional well-being and psychological resilience” (Siegel, 1999, p. 48). By having secure relationships with the child we can make them feel a sense of belonging and especially having the same staff with infants and letting them know that the same teachers will be there to welcome…
Attachment theories is an area that has received a large amount of attention and been subject to a considerable amount of further research since the 1950s. This essay will strive look at what makes up the foundations of Bowlby's theory, as well as looking to consider in more detail how this theory has been developed and expanded by other psychology researchers such as Ainsworth and Main and Goldwyn. Bowlby is a major leading figure in the investigation of parent/child relationships and the development of attachment theory. The interest for him in taking up research in this field was triggered by becoming aware of ethological research surrounding animal imprinting. Mostly the work of Lorenz, who was responsible for discovering the theory that…
Parents are the first and perhaps most profound influence on their children 's lives. Considering different aspects of psychological development this essay is going through some evidence to see what the researchers mean by sensitive parenting: Bowlby’s attachment theory, The Strange Situation, Zimmerman, Hamilton, Baumrind and others. A sensitive person is somebody who can “quick detect or respond to slight changes, signals, or influences”, as the Oxford Dictionaries says. A sensitive parent will respond to the child’s signals and behaviours in an appropriate and effective manner. The child who receives sensitive and responsive caregiving develops…