Bowlby Attachment Theory

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John Bowlby (1969) defined attachment as a ‘lasting psychological connectedness between human beings’ (as cited in Sawyer, 2012) and formed the attachment theory to explain the importance of a good attachment bond between an infant and mother, for healthy human development. This essay will argue that the attachment theory has provided a significant contribution to the understanding of human development, by explaining how the key concepts of this theory have formed the approach to caregiving and also drawing on the research that is in favour of the theory. This essay will also explain how attachment types formed during infancy will continue to have an impact on adult development. Bowlby’s attachment theory was built upon the concepts of ethology. …show more content…

If there is a lack of maternal care, it can lead to serious problems with human development and this is what is known as the maternal deprivation hypothesis. Children deprived of maternal care and raised in institutions under the age of seven can be affected in all aspects of human development, such as socially and emotionally. Bowlby’s (1951) studies of juvenile delinquents showed that the majority of ‘affectionless psychopaths’ had experienced long periods of separation from their mother. This is important to understanding human development as it shows that when there is a lack of maternal care, it seriously hampers the way a child develops. (Holmes, …show more content…

The internal working model is important in human development and attachment, as it affects existing and future relationships. The internal working model is comprised of different cognitive representations of the self, of others and the attachment bond between the infant and primary caregiver. (Berman and Sperling). It is formed through the interaction and communication developed between the child and primary caregiver and it is the internalisation of this interaction that leads to the development of the internal working model. (Mash & Barkley, 2006) Secure attachments, which arise as a result of attentive caregiving, will lead to a positive internal working model. This will lead them to have secure, trusting relationships with others. Insecure-avoidant infants are thought to have a positive model of the self, however they have a negative model of others. Therefore in relationships, infants do not value the importance of emotional

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