IB Psychology Mrs. Urso John Bowlby is the pioneer of the attachment theory and worked with children who had been separated from their parents during World War 2. He observed that many of these children developed emotional problems, and he made the connection that the emotional problems stemmed from the separation from the mother. Bowlby was born in London to an upper class family, and would rarely see, and interact with his mother. At the young age of seven he was sent off to boarding school, which was very common for boys of his social status. He would later go on to say "I wouldn't send a dog away to boarding school at age seven." These circumstances would lead...show more content...
Finally was mild deprivation which could result in minor problems for the child, but no serious complications. Bowlby's main theory which he is most well known for is his Attachment Theory. Bowlby believed that for a strong attachment to be formed there must be proximity maintenance (the desire to be near the people we are attached to), a safe haven(returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat), a secure base(the attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the surrounding environment),and separation distress (anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure). The main points of his attachment theory were that a child has an innate need to attach to one main attachment figure(monotropy). Another main point in his theory was that he believed a child should receive the continuous care of the single most important attachment figure for the first two years of life. Bowlby used the term maternal deprivation to refer to the failure to develop an attachment, and to refer to the separation or loss of a mother. To support his hypothesis that the relationship between the infant and mother in the first five years was crucial to socialization, and the disruption of this relationship can lead to emotional difficulties, antisocial behavior, and delinquency, he studied forty–four juvenile delinquents in a child guidance clinic. The study was called the forty four thieves study, and the goal was
Attachment theory has had some very powerful theorists that have come up with these ideologies. In 1969, John Bowlby was the first theorist to develop the attachment theory. It is a theory developed to explain the emotional ties that children had with their parents or caregivers. It was believed that a child's attachment style with a caregiver was developed throughout childhood and influenced how an individual interacts with society. It also gave an indication on what their parenting styles might be like, although this was not always a concrete indication. Bowlby's theory provided the basis on which Mary Ainsworthalso worked on and developed. In the 1970's Ainsworth developed and conducted the "strange situation" experiment, which proved...show more content...
The child whom welcomed their mother's closeness and who welcomed the mothers return was named secure attachment. The children whom ignored the mothers arrival was deemed as avoidant attachment and the children whom were perceived as showing signs of anger yet still actively seeked the mothers attention and contact was called ambivalent attachment.
These following scenarios fit into each of the three attachment styles; secure, ambivalent and avoidant. Charlotte is the 2 year old child of Sandra. Sandra is a solo parent who has fully immersed herself into her work as she cannot deal with the problems she is presently faced with. Sandra tries her best with Charlotte but finds it very hard to meet her needs, so she buries herself in her work and is very inconsistent in caring for Charlotte. As a result of Sandra's parenting technique Charlotte is very wary of people. When Sandra leaves Charlotte as Kindergarten each morning she becomes quite distressed. But with the return of Sandra, Charlotte does not seem to be comforted by this either. As an adult, these signs of ambivalent attachment could lead Charlotte to become very reluctant to be close to others, she might worry that her partner does not love her or she might become very distraught when a relationship ends. This scenario fits into the ambivalent attachment style as Charlotte displays the characteristics commonly seen with this
Get more content
Bowlby's attachment theory has greatly influenced practice. His theory of attachment explains the importance of having a figure that the child shares a strong bond with. Having an attachment can significantly support a child's development as Barbara Woods suggests that "his theory of attachment proposed that attachment is innate in both infants and mothers, and that the formation of this attachment is crucial for the infants development" Wood, B (2001, p.53). Bowlby believed that forming an attachment will help a child develop in all areas e.g. emotionally, physical and mentally. However if they did not form an attachment in the sensitive period, the child may have issues or problems in their cognitive, emotional and social development....show more content...
If any problems occur to the child, they can return to their secure base which is their key worker, who can offer them comfort. Although key workers are not there for children who have not formed an attachment with their parents, they are they to offer support and comfort. The strength of Bowlby's approach is that it has introduced the key worker system, which has helped a great deal with supporting children's needs and development. Key workers can track their progress and plan and implement activities which promote their development. While working at my last year's placement in a nursery setting, I was informed that each child had a key worker assigned to them. I observed that when parents would leave their children, some would cry and get upset, the key worker would then take them aside and comfort them or try to distract them. Having the key workers there for them made the child more emotionally secure. His theory has also influenced other child care practices such as hospitals. Parents are now able to stay with their children due to understanding their emotional development can be disrupted if their attachment figure is not with them through a difficult period of their life when they need support. "Parent's were encouraged to be with the child in hospital: nursing care and the ward itself became child–centered" Wood, B (2001, p.60). Some research states that children need to have a good relationship
Get more content