John Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment

• Bowlby's theory of Attachment focuses on the emotional bond between a child and their primary caregiver
• Attachment is a two-way emotional bond where people depend on each other for a sense of security
• Bowlby believed that mental health and behavioral problems could be attributed to early childhood attachment experiences
• Bowlby described three types of attachment styles:

  • Secure
  • Avoidant
  • Anxious-avoidant/ambivalent, insecure
• Three stages of attachment:

  • Pre-attachment
  • Indiscriminate attachment
  • Discriminate attachment
• Babies in the pre-attachment stage respond to people but do not discriminate between them
• In the discriminate attachment stage, babies show separation anxiety and stranger fear
• Bowlby believed that the relationship between an infant and their primary caregiver during the first five years of life is crucial for socialization and emotional development
• Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis suggests that if attachment is not developed within the first two and a half years of a child's life, it can lead to long-term negative consequences
• Effects of poor attachment may include anxiety, difficulty in forming relationships, and challenges in parenting
• Critics of Bowlby argue that personality can also be inherited and that environmental factors play a significant role in development
• Michael Rutter's critique of Bowlby's Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis highlights the importance of distinguishing between separation from an attachment figure, loss of an attachment figure, and a complete lack of attachment
• Effects of maternal deprivation may include an inability to form attachments in the future, affectionless psychopathy, delinquency, and cognitive delays
• Rutter suggests that privation, the lack of opportunity to form attachments, can be more damaging than maternal deprivation
• Some critics argue that attachment is influenced by learned behavior and environmental factors rather than being solely a biological process
• Bowlby's Monotropic Theory of Attachment states that an attachment bond between a baby and their mother is crucial for normal healthy development in the child
• Attachment bond provides safety, emotional security, and reproductive success
• Bowlby's theory considers WHY attachments are formed, HOW they are formed, WHEN they are formed, and WHO they are formed with
• Infants produce "social releasers" such as crying, smiling, and looking to get the caregiver's attention
• Attachments should form within a "critical period" window of time, typically between 6 months to 2 ½ years of an infant's life
• Attachments have an evolutionary and innate basis
• Caregivers produce an "internal parental response" automatically responding to the infant's needs
• Attachments are "adaptive," beneficial for increasing the infant's chance of survival
• Infants have a special bond to one primary attachment figure, usually the mother or a maternal figure, known as "monotropy"
• Attachments in infancy create an "internal working model," a mental template for future relationships in adulthood
• Early attachment behavior is linked to later emotional development, known as the "continuity hypothesis"
• Infants are pre-programmed to produce "social releasers" like looking, cuddling, crying, and smiling to initiate the attachment process
• Social releasers help the attachment process by the caregiver responding and ensuring the infant's survival
• Bowlby proposed the idea of "Monotropy," where infants have a strong innate tendency to form an attachment to one particular adult, usually the mother or a maternal substitute
• Social releasers help the attachment process by the caregiver responding and ensuring the infant's survival
• Attachments to other individuals are secondary to the primary attachment figure
• The attachment bond formed within the critical period is crucial to prevent negative consequences in later life
• Key terms in Bowlby's theory include Monotropy, Innate, Critical period, Internal Parental Response, Primary attachment figure, Social Releasers, Evolutionary, Internal Working model, Adaptive, Continuity hypothesis, and Maternal figure
• Bowlby's Monotropic Explanation focuses on WHY infants form attachments, the evolutionary basis, innate drive, adaptiveness, internal working model, and the link between infant attachments and adult relationships
• Bowlby's Evolutionary Explanation emphasizes WHEN infants form attachments within a critical period of 6 months to 2 ½ years, and the negative consequences of not forming attachments during this time
• Bowlby's Evolutionary Explanation discusses WHO infants form attachments to, highlighting the concept of "Monotropy" and the primary attachment figure, usually the mother or a maternal substitute
• Bowlby's Evolutionary Explanation explains HOW infants form attachments through innate behaviors like social releasers and the caregiver's automatic response
• According to Chomsky, Saira will have a language acquisition device in her brain which enables her to learn language
• Adults make grammatical errors, but Saira will continue to speak using grammar correctly
• Attachment is essential for healthy emotional & social development