The Development of Attachment Theory and Its Strengths and Limitations

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The Development of Attachment Theory and Its Strengths and Limitations English psychiatrist John Bowlby is a leading and influential figure within the history of social reform. His work has influenced social work policies and legislation relating to child psychiatry and psychology. Bowlby was trained as a psychoanalyst, and was influenced by Freudians theories, but became influenced again in his attachment theory by the work of ethologists. The ethologists theory concentrates on looking at the role parents play rather than only the child. Bowlby believes that parenting has strong ties with biology and it explains why there are such strong emotions attached. Bowlby’s main idea was that of the main caregiver providing a safe and secure base in which the child can return to over again, without coming to any harm. This serves the evolutionary function of such behaviour which then leads to emotionally secure bonds being built. This increases basic survival value in the beginning and then helps to bring about the reproductive success of the species in the end. There have been some studies relating to attachment involving Rhesus monkeys. The work of Harlow (Harlow, Mcgaugh & Thompson 1971) revealed that the child becomes attached because of the main and basic needs of hunger and thirst. This has become known as the “Cupboard love” theory and represents important psychological motives as the child learns to love the mother. Comfort and warmth are also important and fundamental in parental care as the following studies show. Maternal deprivation has been studied using two wire supports as substitutes for the mother on Rhesus monkeys. One o... ... middle of paper ... ...ther underlying factors to take into account. Some children’s personality types could render them more sensitive than others to the strange situation; also major changes to the Childs life circumstances can have an affect through no-ones fault. Different cultures have varying attitudes to child rearing the ‘strange situation’ may not be an appropriate way of comparing attachment patterns in different cultures, as infants from different cultures would experience the procedure differently this would reflect a different upbringing not security to attachment. Principles of developmental psychology. George Butterworth & Margaret Harris. Introduction to Social psychology. 2nd edition. Edited by Hewstone, Stroebe and Stephenson. Psychology. The Science of Mind & Behaviour. 4th edition. Richard Gross.

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