John Bowlby's Theory Of Socio-Emotional And Infant Development

Social relationship is very important to individuals. It can affect individual’s working efficiency, corporation and even the personality. In this essay, three types of caring attachment will be introduced. Also, the influence from each attachment among the caregivers in baby’s childhood and adulthood will be discussed. Bowlby (1988) used attachment theory to explain that how the relationship between the infants and caregiver influenced infants' development.

The attachment theory specifies that an infants and young child requires consistent relationships with people to thrive and develop. Attachment is described as a essential need with a biological basis where infants or young children need to maintain a sense of security with a specific person. Developing a secure attachment between the infant and their parents or guardian is an important part of early childhood development, due to the many things that can interfere with the development of a healthy attachment. Without a secure attachment, an infant may develop problems that can continue throughout their lives and affect the relationships with others. Approach behavior may be defined as locomotion in which a usual outcome of the distance between one person and one other specific person is observed to distinguish the distance between each individual and the attachment to one another.

Secured attachment is extremely important in the developmental stages of an infant. Secure attachment is when an infant feels distressed when they are separated from their caregivers and feels happy when their caregiver returns. Research from this article suggests that, when an infant does not receive the comfort they need from their caregiver for secure attachments, it can have a negative impact on their behaviour later on in their childhood and throughout life. Infants who have secured attachments tend to develop stronger self-esteem as they grow older, they also tend to be more independent and successful in socialising. Those children are also less likely to experience less depression and anxiety.

This test observed patterns in the infants’ experiences of separation and reunion with their mother, and their reaction to a stranger, in order to evaluate the type of attachment relationship the infant shared with their mother (Ainsworth, 1978). Ainsworth found a significant consistency between the mothers’ interactive styles and the reactions of the infants. The results of this test led Ainsworth to classify the behaviours into three main categories. She identified the infants to have secure attachment, or one of two forms of insecure attachment, avoidant or ambivalent (Music,

Attachment is “not synonymous with love or affection; it is not an overall descriptor of the relationship between the parent and child which includes other parent–child interactions such as feeding, stimulation, play or problem solving” (Prior, 2006, pg 15) Attachment theory is based on a emotional and physical attachment that is important to the personal development of a child. The attachment is shown by some behaviors in infants, such as needing closeness with the attachment figure when upset or threatened, the infant uses the figure as secure base that the child can use when in need of security and comfort (Bowlby, 1969). Any caregiver is the attachment figure who provides most care for the infant and is their primary social communication. This can be biological parents or anyone who the infant feels the attachment with.

Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional

Since the ‘50s, Bowlby worked alone and with distinguished colleagues such as psychoanalyst James Robertson, ethologist/zoologist Robert Hinde and psychologist Mary Ainsworth on several different studies. Bowlby suggested that due to the attachment between children and their carers, children suffer loss when they are separated. Bowlby’s study with the ethologist Robert Hinde, inspired the idea that certain attachment behaviours have evolved as a survival mechanism (Bergen, 2008). The core of the theory today is that the quality of close relationships affects personality, emotional and social development not only in childhood but throughout the life of the individual (Howe, 2001). This suggests that attachment theory is effectively a biological, psychological and social theory of human development.

To address the concept of attachment as outlined by John Bowlby (1953), the author shall define attachment theory and behaviour; look at some key influences on Bowlby that led to the development of attachment theory; discuss some key concepts involved and the implications for understanding child and adolescent behaviour. Attachment theory is a psychological theory and a biological drive which has evolved to safeguard the survival of the defenceless young (Prior and Glaser 2006). Proximity to an attachment figure is sought when the child senses threat or discomfort. Attachment behaviour, according to Bowlby, is “a form of behaviour that results in a person attaining or maintaining proximity to some other clearly identified individual who is

INTRO Attachment theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregivers , this theory provided that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social emotional development of an infant. This is a very crucial stage in occurs in the early infant years this factors relationships with the child and the primary child care giver. In this case the parents and the educator can share the primary role. John Bowlby began researching after he graduated, he believed the attached processed involved the cognitive emotional and social features of attachment.

Theories (Erikson & Attachment) According to Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, trust vs. mistrust, occurs in the first year of life. Erikson believed that the caregiver’s response to the infant’s cries help them develop a sense of trust, when the caregiver responds right away to the infant’s distress of crying or fussing (Mooney, 2000). Erikson believed that in the earliest years of life, mainly during infancy, patterns of trust or mistrust are formed that control, or at least influence, a person’s actions or interactions for the rest of life (Erikson, 1950). Bowlby hypothesized that children are born with a predisposition to be attached to caregivers and that children will organize their behavior and thinking in order to maintain those relationships (Bettmann, 2006).

The term attachment is used widely when focusing on children’s early relationships. An attachment can be thought of as a unique emotional tie or bond between a child and another person which usually is an adult. Research shows that the quality of these bonds or attachments will shape a child’s ability to form other relationships later on in life. In the 1950’s a theorist John Bowlby identified that children and young people’s mental health and behaviour could be linked to separation from a child’s primary carer. He also identified that young children can show separation anxiety if their primary carer is not there for them.

Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969). Certain behaviours often define the kind of attachment one shares with the other person although there is no necessary condition regarding the mutuality of the feelings and emotions. With respect to children, attachment is often noticed in situations where in the child looks for some sort of closeness when vulnerable. The same can be observed when adults respond to the needs and requirements of the child. The levels of attachment differ from person to person and the kind of bonding they have.

In the normal development of every individual, the need to form secure attachments with their parents is present. Developmental theorists have even categorized attachment as a basic need of every human being, (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Secure attachments take place when the physical and emotional needs of the child are constantly provided, particularly during the first two years of life. Healthy attachments will make children internalize their parents as figures of trust; this in turn will make them perceive their parents with an image of security, stability, and dependence. Healthy parent-child attachment is necessary to allow the child to develop interdependence and learn to engage in reciprocally pleasurable interactions.

Attachment plays a crucial role in the development of young children, and the social skills of children as they grow into adulthood. Looking at attachment from a low socioeconomic stand point reveled many interesting trends within individual’s attachment styles. It was made very clear to me throughout my research on this topic just how vital attachment is for individual development. The attachment theory came about as Mary Ainsworth and Jong Bowlby were researching young motherless children in a hospital after world war 2. They realized what negative effects this motherless environment enacted and wanted to further understand.

She stated that based on the quality of parental care, a child would fall within three categories of attachment. A child whom received sufficient care, would develop secure attachment and, thus, be confident and steady individuals. Yet, a child receiving insufficient care, would either become insecurely anxious-ambivalent, thus, becoming clingy, distrustful and hypervigilant to the world; or alternatively would become insecurely avoidant, being rather dismissive to situations around them (Bretherton, 1992; Main, 2000). A fourth category of disorganised attachment was added, referring to children whom lacked attachment mechanisms completely (Main, 2000). Both these theorists wanted to display the importance of early life experiences in development and the following arguments will display how their theories proved