John Bowlby's Attachment Theory And Personal Development

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Recommended: Attachment is known to contribute to the development of healthy social and emotional development (Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005)

Attachment theory has been describe by many psychologist as an importance of attachment in regards to personal development, stating that the ability for an individual to form an emotional and physical attachment to another person giving a sense of stability and security which is necessary in taking risks, branching out, and growth to develop one’s personality. Attachment theory is attachment theory is focused on the relationships and bonds between people, particularly long-term relationships including those between a parent and child and between romantic partners.

British psychologist John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist, he described attachment as a
"lasting psychological connectedness between human beings."

Bowlby was interested …show more content…

What Bowlby observed that even feeding did not diminish the anxiety experienced by children when they were separated from their primary caregivers. Bowlby was the first to establish this. His work pave the way that childhood development depended heavily upon a child 's ability to form a strong relationship with at least one primary caregiver There are four main phases of attachment development according to Bowlby

PRE-ATTACHMENT PHASE from birth – 6 weeks at this stage the child innate response such as crying, and gazing into their caregivers eyes. This type of action encourages the carere to remain close as the closeness comforts the child. Although they are not yet attach, they are not aware of unfamiliar faces and don’t mining left. ATTACHMENT IN MAKING PHASE 6 weeks – 6 to 8 months, during this stage the infant interacts more with their caregiver and they also learns that their actions affect the behaviour of those around and begin to develop a sense of trust where they expect that the caregiver will respond when signalled with either at this stage the infant still does not protest when separated from the …show more content…

And are displaying Anxiety when separated, and will become upset when an adult whom they have come to rely leaves. Although Separation anxiety increases between 6 -15 months of age its occurrence depends on infant temperament, and the adult’s behaviour. The child will express their distress when the mother leaves but if the caregiver is supportive and sensitive then this anxiety could be short- lived.

FORMATION OF RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP 18 Months – 2 Years, With rapid growth in representation of language by 2 years the toddler is now able to understand some of the factors that influence thier parent’s coming and going and to predict their return. Thus separation protests decline. The child could negotiate with the caregiver, using requests and persuasion to alter her goals with age the child depends less on the caregiver, more confidence that the caregiver will be accessible and responsive in times of

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