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Bowlby'south Attachment Theory

By Dr. Saul McLeod, updated 2017

John Bowlby (1907 - 1990) was a psychoanalyst (like Freud) and believed that mental wellness and behavioral issues could exist attributed to early childhood.

Take-habitation Messages of Bowlby'due south Theory

Bowlby's evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to course attachments with others, because this will assistance them to survive.
A kid has an innate (i.due east. inborn) need to adhere to one main attachment figure. This is chosen monotropy. This concept of monotropy suggests that in that location is one relationship which is more important than all the rest.
Bowlby's suggests that there is a critical period for developing at attachment (ii.v years). If an attachment has non developed during this time period then and so it may well non happen at all. Bowlby later proposed a sensitive menstruum of upward to 5 years.
Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis suggests that continual disruption of the zipper between infant and primary caregiver could result in long term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that babe.
According to Bowlby, an internal working model is is a cerebral framework comprising mental representations for understanding the world, self and others, and is based on the relationship with a primary caregiver. It becomes a prototype for all future social relationships and allows individuals to predict, command and manipulate interactions with others.

Bowlby'due south Evolutionary Theory of Attachment

Bowlby (1969, 1988) was very much influenced by ethological theory in general, but especially past Lorenz'south (1935) study of imprinting. Lorenz showed that attachment was innate (in young ducklings) and therefore has a survival value.

During the evolution of the human species, it would take been the babies who stayed close to their mothers that would accept survived to have children of their own. Bowlby hypothesized that both infants and mothers have evolved a biological need to stay in contact with each other.

Bowlby (1969) believed that attachment behaviors (such as proximity seeking) are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such as separation, insecurity, and fear. Bowlby also postulated that the fear of strangers represents an important survival mechanism, congenital in by nature.

Babies are born with the tendency to brandish sure innate behaviors (called social releasers) which assist ensure proximity and contact with the mother or attachment figure (e.g., crying, smiling, crawling, etc.) – these are species-specific behaviors.

These attachment behaviors initially function similar fixed action patterns and all share the aforementioned function. The babe produces innate 'social releaser' behaviors such as crying and smile that stimulate caregiving from adults. The determinant of attachment is not food simply care and responsiveness.

Primary Points of Bowlby's Theory

1. A child has an innate (i.east., inborn) need to attach to one main zipper figure (i.e., monotropy).

Bowlby'due south monotropic theory of attachment suggests attachment is important for a child's survival. Zipper behaviors in both babies and their caregivers accept evolved through natural option. This ways infants are biologically programmed with innate behaviors that ensure that zipper occurs.

Although Bowlby did not rule out the possibility of other attachment figures for a child, he did believe that there should exist a principal bond which was much more of import than any other (usually the mother).

Other attachments may develop in a hierarchy beneath this. An infant may therefore take a primary monotropy attachment to its female parent, and below her the hierarchy of attachments my include its father, siblings, grandparents, etc.

Bowlby believes that this attachment is qualitatively different from any subsequent attachments. Bowlby argues that the relationship with the mother is somehow different altogether from other relationships.

Essentially, Bowlby (1988) suggested that the nature of monotropy (zipper conceptualized as being a vital and close bond with merely i attachment effigy) meant that a failure to initiate, or a breakdown of, the maternal zipper would lead to serious negative consequences, possibly including affectionless psychopathy.

Bowlby'due south theory of monotropy led to the formulation of his maternal deprivation hypothesis.

The kid behaves in ways that elicits contact or proximity to the caregiver. When a child experiences heightened arousal, he/she signals their caregiver. Crying, grinning, and, locomotion, are examples of these signaling behaviors. Instinctively, caregivers reply to their children's behavior creating a reciprocal blueprint of interaction.

2. A kid should receive the continuous intendance of this single most of import attachment figure for approximately the first two years of life.

Bowlby (1951) claimed that mothering is almost useless if delayed until subsequently 2 and a half to iii years and, for most children, if delayed till later 12 months, i.e., there is a critical catamenia.

If the attachment figure is broken or disrupted during the critical two twelvemonth period, the kid will suffer irreversible long-term consequences of this maternal impecuniousness. This risk continues until the age of five.

Bowlby used the term maternal impecuniousness to refer to the separation or loss of the mother as well every bit failure to develop an attachment.

The underlying assumption of Bowlby's Maternal Impecuniousness Hypothesis is that continual disruption of the attachment between babe and primary caregiver (i.eastward., mother) could consequence in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant.

The implications of this are vast – if this is true, should the primary caregiver leave their kid in day care, while they continue to work?

3. The long-term consequences of maternal deprivation might include the following:

Bowlby'due south maternal deprivation hypothesis suggests that continual disruption of the attachment between infant and primary caregiver (i.e. female parent) could result in long term cerebral, social, and emotional difficulties for that babe. Bowlby originally believed the effects to be permanent and irreversible.

• malversation,

• reduced intelligence,

• increased aggression,

• low,

• affectionless psychopathy

Affectionless psychopathy is an inability to show affection or business for others. Such individuals human activity on impulse with footling regard for the consequences of their actions. For example, showing no guilt for hating behavior.

4. Robertson and Bowlby (1952) believe that short-term separation from an attachment figure leads to distress (i.e., the PDD model).

John Bowlby, working alongside James Robertson (1952) observed that children experienced intense distress when separated from their mothers. Even when such children were fed past other caregivers, this did non diminish the child's feet.

They constitute three progressive stages of distress:

Protestation: The child cries, screams and protests angrily when the parent leaves. They will try to cling on to the parent to terminate them leaving.
Despair: The child's protesting begins to cease, and they appear to exist calmer although still upset. The child refuses others' attempts for comfort and often seems withdrawn and uninterested in anything.
Disengagement: If separation continues the kid will offset to appoint with other people once more. They volition reject the caregiver on their render and prove potent signs of anger.

These findings contradicted the dominant behavioral theory of attachment (Dollard and Miller, 1950) which was shown to underestimate the child's bail with their mother. The behavioral theory of attachment stated that the child becomes attached to the mother because she fed the infant.

5. The kid's attachment human relationship with their primary caregiver leads to the development of an internal working model (Bowlby, 1969).

This internal working model is a cognitive framework comprising mental representations for understanding the earth, self, and others. A person's interaction with others is guided past memories and expectations from their internal model which influence and aid evaluate their contact with others (Bretherton, & Munholland, 1999).

internal working model of attachment

Effectually the age of three, these seem to become role of a child'southward personality and thus affects their agreement of the globe and future interactions with others (Schore, 2000). Co-ordinate to Bowlby (1969), the primary caregiver acts equally a prototype for future relationships via the internal working model.

There are three main features of the internal working model: (1) a model of others as being trustworthy, (two) a model of the self every bit valuable, and (three) a model of the self equally constructive when interacting with others.

Information technology is this mental representation that guides future social and emotional beliefs as the kid's internal working model guides their responsiveness to others in full general.

44 Thieves Report (Bowlby, 1944)

John Bowlby believed that the relationship between the baby and its female parent during the offset five years of life was most crucial to socialization.

He believed that disruption of this master relationship could lead to a higher incidence of juvenile delinquency, emotional difficulties, and antisocial behavior.

To examination his hypothesis, he studied 44 boyish juvenile delinquents in a kid guidance clinic.

Aim: To investigate the long-term effects of maternal impecuniousness on people in lodge to meet whether delinquents accept suffered deprivation. According to the Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis, breaking the maternal bond with the kid during the early stages of its life is likely to accept serious furnishings on its intellectual, social and emotional evolution.

Procedure: Between 1936 and 1939 an opportunity sample of 88 children was selected from the clinic where Bowlby worked. Of these, 44 were juvenile thieves and had been referred to him because of their stealing. Bowlby selected another group of 44 children to act as 'controls (individuals referred to the dispensary because of emotional bug, but not yet committed any crimes).

On inflow at the clinic, each child had their IQ tested past a psychologist who besides assessed the child's emotional attitudes towards the tests. At the same time a social worker interviewed a parent to record details of the child's early on life (due east.1000., periods of separation). The psychologist and social worker made separate reports.

A psychiatrist (Bowlby) and so conducted an initial interview with the child and accompanying parent (east.g., diagnosing affectionless psychopathy).

Findings: More half of the juvenile thieves had been separated from their mothers for longer than six months during their first five years. In the control group but 2 had had such a separation.

He also institute 14 of the young thieves (32%) showed 'affectionless psychopathy' (they were not able to care about or experience affection for others). None of the command group were affectionless psychopaths.

bowlby 44 thieves graph results

Bowlby found that 86% of the 'affectionless psychopaths' in grouping i ('thieves) had experienced a long period of maternal separation before the historic period of v years (they had spent well-nigh of their early years in residential homes or hospitals and were not often visited by their families).

Just 17% of the thieves non diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths had experienced maternal separation. Just 2 of the control group had experienced a prolonged separation in their first 5 years.

Decision: Bowlby ended that maternal separation/deprivation in the child'due south early life caused permanent emotional impairment.

He diagnosed this as a condition and called information technology Affectionless Psychopathy. According to Bowlby, this status involves a lack of emotional evolution, characterized by a lack of concern for others, lack of guilt and inability to course meaningful and lasting relationships.

Evaluation: The supporting evidence that Bowlby (1944) provided was in the form of clinical interviews of, and retrospective data on, those who had and had non been separated from their primary caregiver.

This meant that Bowlby was asking the participants to look back and recall separations. These memories may not be accurate. Bowlby designed and conducted the experiment himself. This may take lead to experimenter bias. Especially as he was responsible for making the diagnosis of affectionless psychopathy.

Some other criticism of the 44 thieves study was that it concluded affectionless psychopathy was caused by maternal deprivation. This is correlational data and as such simply shows a human relationship betwixt these two variables.

Indeed, other external variables, such as family conflict, parental income, educational activity, etc. may accept affected the beliefs of the 44 thieves, and non, as ended, the disruption of the attachment bond. Thus, as Rutter (1972) pointed out, Bowlby's conclusions were flawed, mixing upwards cause and effect with correlation.

The report was vulnerable to researcher bias. Bowlby conducted the psychiatric assessments himself and made the diagnoses of Affectionless Psychopathy. He knew whether the children were in the 'theft group' or the command grouping. Consequently, his findings may have unconsciously influenced by his ain expectations. This potentially undermines their validity.

Evaluation of Bowlby'due south Theory

Bifulco et al. (1992) support the maternal deprivation hypothesis. They studied 250 women who had lost mothers, through separation or expiry, before they were 17.

They found that loss of their mother through separation or death doubles the risk of depressive and anxiety disorders in adult women. The rate of depression was the highest in women whose mothers had died before the child reached the age of 6.

Bowlby'south (1944, 1956) ideas had a neat influence on the way researchers thought near attachment, and much of the discussion of his theory has focused on his conventionalities in monotropy.

Although Bowlby may not dispute that young children form multiple attachments, he nonetheless contends that the zipper to the female parent is unique in that it is the kickoff to appear and remains the strongest of all. However, on both of these counts, the bear witness seems to propose otherwise.

Schaffer & Emerson (1964) noted that specific attachments started at near eight months and, very shortly thereafter, the infants became attached to other people. Past 18 months very few (thirteen%) were attached to only 1 person; some had five or more attachments.
Rutter (1972) points out that several indicators of attachment (such every bit protest or distress when attached person leaves) have been shown for a multifariousness of zipper figures – fathers, siblings, peers and even inanimate objects.

Critics such every bit Rutter accept also defendant Bowlby of not distinguishing betwixt deprivation and privation – the consummate lack of an attachment bond, rather than its loss. Rutter stresses that the quality of the attachment bond is the well-nigh important cistron, rather than just impecuniousness in the critical flow.

Bowlby used the term maternal deprivation to refer to the separation or loss of the mother too as the failure to develop an attachment. Are the furnishings of maternal deprivation every bit dire as Bowlby suggested?

Michael Rutter (1972) wrote a book chosen Maternal Impecuniousness Re-assessed. In the volume, he suggested that Bowlby may accept oversimplified the concept of maternal deprivation.

Bowlby used the term 'maternal impecuniousness' to refer to separation from an fastened figure, loss of an attached figure and failure to develop an attachment to any figure. These each have different furnishings, argued Rutter. In particular, Rutter distinguished between privation and impecuniousness.

Michael Rutter (1981) argued that if a child fails to develop an emotional bond, this is privation, whereas impecuniousness refers to the loss of or damage to an attachment.

From his survey of inquiry on privation, Rutter proposed that it is likely to lead initially to clinging, dependent beliefs, attention-seeking and indiscriminate friendliness, then as the child matures, an inability to keep rules, grade lasting relationships, or experience guilt. He also found evidence of anti-social beliefs, affectionless psychopathy, and disorders of language, intellectual development and physical growth.

Rutter argues that these problems are non due solely to the lack of attachment to a female parent figure, as Bowlby claimed, merely to factors such as the lack of intellectual stimulation and social experiences which attachments normally provide. In addition, such problems can be overcome later in the kid's development, with the right kind of care.

Many of the 44 thieves in Bowlby's study had been moved effectually a lot during childhood, and had probably never formed an attachment. This suggested that they were suffering from privation, rather than deprivation, which Rutter suggested was far more deleterious to the children. This led to a very important written report on the long-term furnishings of privation, carried out by Hodges and Tizard (1989).

Bowlby's Maternal Deprivation is, however, supported past Harlow's (1958) research with monkeys. He showed that monkeys reared in isolation from their mother suffered emotional and social problems in older historic period. The monkey'southward never formed an attachment (privation) and as such grew up to be ambitious and had issues interacting with other monkeys.

Konrad Lorenz (1935) supports Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis equally the attachment procedure of imprinting is an innate process.

Bowlby causeless that concrete separation on its own could lead to impecuniousness but Rutter (1972) argues that it is the disruption of the zipper rather than the physical separation.

This is supported by Radke-Yarrow (1985) who establish that 52% of children whose mothers suffered from low were insecurely attached. This figure raised to 80% when this occurred in a context of poverty (Lyons-Ruth,1988). This shows the influence of social factors. Bowlby did not have into business relationship the quality of the substitute care. Deprivation can be avoided if there is good emotional care afterward separation.

There are implications arising from Bowlby's work. As he believed the mother to be the most central care giver and that this care should be given on a continuous basis an obvious implication is that mothers should not go out to work. There take been many attacks on this claim:

Mothers are the exclusive carers in only a very small percentage of human societies; often there are a number of people involved in the care of children, such as relations and friends (Weisner, & Gallimore, 1977).
Van Ijzendoorn, & Tavecchio (1987) argue that a stable network of adults can provide adequate intendance and that this care may even have advantages over a system where a mother has to meet all a kid's needs.
At that place is evidence that children develop improve with a mother who is happy in her work, than a mother who is frustrated by staying at dwelling (Schaffer, 1990).

How to reference this commodity:

How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2017, Febuary 05). Bowlby'southward attachment theory. Only Psychology. world wide web.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html

APA Fashion References

Bifulco, A., Harris, T., & Brownish, G. Due west. (1992). Mourning or early inadequate care? Reexamining the relationship of maternal loss in childhood with adult low and anxiety. Evolution and Psychopathology, 4(03), 433-449.

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Bowlby, J. (1952). Maternal care and mental health. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 16(3), 232.

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Bretherton, I., & Munholland, K.A. (1999). Internal working models revisited. In J. Cassidy & P.R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, inquiry, and clinical applications (pp. 89– 111). New York: Guilford Press.

Harlow, H. F., & Zimmermann, R. R. (1958). The development of affective responsiveness in babe monkeys. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Guild, 102,501 -509.

Hodges, J., & Tizard, B. (1989). Social and family relationships of ex‐institutional adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30(1), 77-97.

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yons-Ruth, K., Zoll, D., Connell, D., & Grunebaum, H. E. (1986). The depressed female parent and her 1-year-old infant: Surroundings, interaction, attachment, and infant development. In E. Tronick & T. Field (Eds.), Maternal depression and babe disturbance (pp. 61-82). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Radke-Yarrow, M., Cummings, E. Grand., Kuczynski, 50., & Chapman, M. (1985). Patterns of attachment in 2-and three-year-olds in normal families and families with parental low. Kid development, 884-893.

Rutter, M. (1972). Maternal deprivation reassessed. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

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Rutter, Grand. (1981). Stress, coping and development: Some problems and some questions. Periodical of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22(4), 323-356.

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How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2017, Febuary 05). Bowlby'due south zipper theory. Only Psychology. world wide web.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html

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