Preview

The Attachment Theory: John Bowlby And Mary Ainsworth

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
211 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Attachment Theory: John Bowlby And Mary Ainsworth
In humans, attachment refers to the strong emotional bond that develops between an infant and his or her primary caretaker (Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, 2007). The attachment theory was developed after both individual and joint research by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Bowlby set the foundations for the attachment theory, believing that when we are born, we are biologically programed to form attachments in order to help us survive, as when we are infants we cannot feed or protect ourselves. Mary Ainsworth adopted this theory and expanded it, through her research of ‘strange situation’. In this essay I will discuss a brief overview of the development of the attachment theory as well as further elaborate on the phases within the attachment
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Compare and contrast the work of Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth
    • 1502 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Compare and contrast the work of Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth

    Contrasting and comparing the work of Harry Harlow (1962) with the work of Mary Ainsworth (1953) on understanding attachment in children, shows that attachment is not based in cupboard love (the provision of food by the mother or the primary care giver) but is mainly formed through contact comfort and the sensitive responsiveness to the child’s signals provided by the mother or by the primary care giver. Mary Ainsworth’s study and research called “Strange Situation” provides a time-saving and effective way of assessing attachment in children showing that different attachment categories develop under different situations and is also cross-cultural.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bowlby And Ainsworth Attachment Theory
    • 63 Words
    • 1 Page

    Bowlby And Ainsworth Attachment Theory

    Reflecting on Mahler’s terminology of separation- individuation, and Bowlby and Ainsworth’s attachment style regarding child development process, it easy for someone to suspect that two different things are being discussed however; one can hypothesize that Mahler is stating that separation is necessary for individuation while Bowlby and Ainsworth attachment theory, stresses, that individuation occurs optimally, within the framework of secure attachment (Goldstein, 1995).…

    • 63 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary: The Attachment Theory
    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page

    Summary: The Attachment Theory

    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…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Bowlby Attachment Theory
    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page

    John Bowlby Attachment Theory

    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…

    • 142 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Harry Harlow And Mary Ainsworth
    • 1433 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Harry Harlow And Mary Ainsworth

    “Attachment is relatively long term, emotionally important relationship in which one individual seeks proximity to and derives security and comfort from the presence of another” (Investigating psychology, 2012 p. 193). Harry Harlow and Mary Ainsworth are two famous psychologist who provided us series of experiments to understand the attachment in terms of psychology. HarryHarlow started the experiments on monkeys and Mary Ainsworth focused on human infants’ behaviour. There are various similarities and differences in their sets of experiments by using different techniques.…

    • 1433 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    REDONE Discuss Bowlby S Work On Attachment
    • 1228 Words
    • 4 Pages

    REDONE Discuss Bowlby S Work On Attachment

    Attachment theory was developed in the 1950’s by psychoanalyst John Bowlby, who defined attachment as a ‘lasting psychological connectedness between human beings’. Whilst working with James Robertson in 1952, he observed that children experienced intense distress when separated from their mothers and if fed by other caregivers, the child’s anxiety did not diminish. This led to his theories of attachment differentiating from the paradigmatic theories of Behaviourism, which suggested that attachment formation was a product of feeding; a theory also provided by Sigmund Freud in the 19th century regarding the oral stage of psychosexual development.…

    • 1228 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    John Bowlby's Attachment Theory Analysis
    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages

    John Bowlby's Attachment Theory Analysis

    Firstly, this essay is going to discuss John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory, which was developed in 1969(REFERENCE), and how it can identify differences between individuals. According to Gross (2015), an attachment is:…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bowlby Attachment Theory
    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Bowlby Attachment Theory

    In the 1980s, Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver were able to garner a lot of attention, then, when they turned attachment theory on adult relationships. In their studies, they looked at a number of couples, examining the nature of the attachments between them, and then observed how those couples reacted to various stressors and stimuli. In the case of adults, it would seem that a strong attachment is still quite important. For example, in cases where the adults had a weak attachment, there were feelings of inadequacy on the part of both parties. When attachments were too strong, there were issues with co-dependency. The relationships functioned best when both parties managed to balance intimacy with independence. Much as is the case with developing children, the ideal situation seemed to be an attachment that functioned as a secure base from which to reach out and gain experience in the world.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bowlby And Ainsworth's Theory Of Attachment
    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page

    Bowlby And Ainsworth's Theory Of Attachment

    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…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Outline and Evaluate Learning Theory
    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Outline and Evaluate Learning Theory

    Learning theory provides a very reliable explanation for attachment formation. It seems highly likely that simple association between the provision of needs essential for survival and the person providing those needs can lead to strong attachments. However the theory is questionable and there is evidence that infants can form attachments with a person who is not the primary care-giver.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Bowlby's Attachment Theory
    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Bowlby's Attachment Theory

    Bowlby ([1969] 1982) and Ainsworth (1978) defined an attachment as an enduring affective bond characterized by a tendency to seek and maintain proximity to a specific figure particularly when under stress. It is a long-lasting relationship, not a transient…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Bowlby
    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    John Bowlby

    The evolutionary explanation of attachment was mainly developed by John Bowlby. Starting in the early 1940s he suggests that there is an innate nature attachment, this meaning that a baby is born biologically with ideas/ behaviours, for a baby to form an attachment with a caregiver. Bowlby suggests that the main reason for this instinctive attachment is due to the primary dependency for food and survival on a mother figure. Based on Freud’s theory that a mother – child relationship is important in forming future attachments Bowlby argues that the primary attachment between the baby and caregiver provided the child with what he calls an internal working model. This he describes as a template for future relationships as it gives the child an idea of whether or not they are lovable and a model of whether the person they are attached…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Bowlby's Evolutionary Theory Of Attachment
    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Bowlby's Evolutionary Theory Of Attachment

    The impacts of infants attachment in their early stages can never be overlooked. It forms the basis of their development and interaction with others especially caregivers. John Bowlby defined attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (1969, p.194). Nativist sees the connectedness as a biological process; empiricist, however, perceives connectedness as a learning curve through interaction with the environment. This essay will look at Bowlby’s evolutionary theory and the learning theory to exemplify the nature vs. nurture viewpoints of attachment while providing contrasting views using Lorenz and Harlow studies as evidence to support the theories. Finally, the essay will use various studies that refute both claims.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Attachment Theory
    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Attachment Theory

    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…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Attachment Theory
    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Attachment Theory

    For this assignment, I am choosing to write about the Attachment Theory, because the concepts of this theory had captured my attention during class. The Attachment Theory was discovered by John Bowlby, which he had examined and analyzed the relationships between a child and their caregiver. Bowlby was attempting to understand the extreme distress from infants, who had been separated from their parents, which left the infants in discomfort. The most important stages of the Attachment Theory is during the first nine months of the infant’s life, when the bond of the newbond and caregiver must be endless, to create a trust and hopeful relationship. A child without a caregiver will likelyhood have relationship issues with another human being or…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics