The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their overall person. Bowlby 's attachment theory had vast investigation done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the interactions between mother and child, specifically, the theme of an infant’s investigation of their surroundings and the separation from their mother. This essay will focus on Bowlby’s attachment theory and Mary Ainsworth’s experiments and findings, discussing their views on the development and importance of attachment in early life. John Bowlby’s primary interest was in the relationship between child and mother or primary caregiver. Bowlby suspected that the earliest relationships formed by children and their primary parent or care giver, have huge impacts on the child’s later life.
Critically evaluate the evidence on children’s early social development in relation to Bowlby’s views on attachment. Positive intimate relationships with spouses, relatives and friends are incredibly important to mental health in adulthood. John Bowlby 's Attachment Theory shows how relational patterns set early in life affect emotional bonds later in life. In 1958, psychologist John Bowlby pioneered "attachment theory," the idea that the early bond between infant and caregiver, and the infant’s need to be close to the caregiver is critical to a child 's emotional development and have a biological basis to ensure survival. The central theme of attachment theory is that mothers who are available and responsive to their infant 's needs establish a sense of security in their children.
That basic trust is facilitated by a responsive caregiver once an infant gets hungry, injured, or needs to be changed. Failure to develop trust will result in fear and belief that the world is unpredictable and inconsistent. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (toddlerhood): Following infants’ understanding of a predictable environment, toddlers are starting to realize if they can depend on others. At this stage, toddlers are a step towards developing as an individual, in other
Analytic enquiry of the middle child: While we talk of the middle child and their behavior perhaps Bowlby 's attachment theory could bring more insight as we look into life of the middle child earlier in their life. Bowlby believed that that mental health and behavioral problems could be attributed to early childhood. Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically preprogrammed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive. This attachment is primarily done with the mother and that humans have been actually developed a biological need to stay attached to the mother. Bowlby postulates that this attachment figure this single attachment was a secure base for the child to hold on to and explore the world.
The infants are not appropriately considered to participate in such orientation. It can be said that children may want to know “why” at their early ages. However, it can be said that children in foster care may not be able to label such feelings such as anxiety or insecurity because they would not be able to ask questions regarding their environments. Such type of an orientation can provide answers to such questions that children may have for legitimizing their traumatic experiences while creating an opportunity for welfare of a child to affirm the significance and value of children (Colton, et al.,
Parents play a range of different roles in the lives of their children, including teacher, playmate, disciplinarian, caregiver and attachment figures. Of all these roles, their role as an attachment figure is one of the most important in predicting the child’s later social and emotional outcome (Benoit, 2004). Bowlby (1988) first proposed that people develop an internal working model of the self and of significant others, which are formed based on one’s early experiences of caregiver ability. Once formed, these models are believed to guide distinctive patterns of cognition, regulation of emotions, and social behaviour in parental as well as in subsequent close relationships and thus influence adult interpersonal functioning (Collins, 1996;
The attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth is an essential key that explains many child-parent relationships and the influence it has on development. Attachment is a process that begins during infancy in an individual’s life and can have long lasting effects. Bowlby’s theory concluded that the bonds formed between a caregiver and a child during the early years were the blueprints for future relationships. Ainsworth’s “strange situation” experiments and numerous studies tested Bowlby’s original theory and expanded on it. This paper will provide an overview on the research that has been conducted on the effects of attachment patterns on an individual’s early and later development.
In an early years setting Bowlby’s attachment theory of creating secure bonds is vital as children can feel vulnerable and often get separation anxiety when an important care giver leaves, for example their mum or dad. Therefore, the child’s key person needs to be sensitive and understanding towards the child as it is a huge change to their routine when starting nursery. Furthermore, the child’s key person during this transition needs to create a bond with the child, the introductory visit will be a good opportunity to get to know the child, their family and will enable the key person to ask questions about what activities the child enjoys. This means on the child’s first day at nursery the key person can layout toys that interest that child and will make the environment for the child feel safe and secure as it will feel more like home if there are toys of interest for him or her to play
(Bowlby, 1969). Attachment behavior in grownups towards the child includes reacting favorably, sympathetically and suitably to the child’s desires. Such behaviors are seen as worldwide across different cultures. Attachment theory explains how the parent-child relationship is formed and how it influences succeeding growth and development. John Bowlby has contributed a lot to the Attachment theory by his works and experiments.
Personal experiences with adopted children, those of close colleagues, family members and students, can, in my opinion, bear out Bowlby’s underlying premise of attachment theory. These children are often insecure and anxious and need a lot of reassurance to feel