John Bowlby - Attachment Theory

Attachment is the strong, affection tie we have with special people in our lives that leads us to feel pleasure and happiness when we interact with them and to be comforted by them during times of stress (Berk, 2003).

 

John Bowlby (Berk, 2003), was among the first applied the idea of the bonding between infant and caregiver.  According to Bowlby, the quality of attachment has implications for the child’s capacity to form trusting relationships.  In his theory, babies are born adapted to seek out such attachments not primarily with the aim of being fed and protected but for the feelings of safety and security the attachment brings.  Children show a marked preference for intimacy to a small number of adults and these attachments are normal and universal part of human development.  Furthermore, in his theory, he found that the quality of attachment to the caregiver has profound implications on the child’s feelings of security and the capacity to form trusting relationships and the purpose of attachment theory is that mothers who are available and responsive to their infant's needs establish a sense of security in their children. The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world.

 

However, in John Bowlby’s theory, the limitation of "model attachment" is based on behaviors that occur during momentary separations (stressful situations) rather than during non-stressful situations.  Behaviors directed towards the attachment figure during departing and reunion times cannot be the only factors used when defining attachment.  Moreover, how children and mothers interact together and not stressed shows more of how the attachment model works than how the child acts when the mother leaves and then returns.

 

Another limitation with the attachment model is that the list of attachment behaviors is limited to those that occur with the primary attachment figure, typically the mother.  Children have attachments to other people other than their mothers, but they do not show this attachment in the same way(Field, 1996). For example, children may cry or follow their mother when they are getting ready to leave them, but for a sibling or peer they may just become fussy or unhappy.  Or maybe in school, when teacher is getting ready to leave them, and they may just become fine or nothing just because probably their peers is there with them. Nevertheless, the attachment model behavior lists only deliberate behaviors, but there may be physiological changes during separations and reunions.

 

I have reviewed the basic ideas of attachment theory and criticisms of attachment theory and the mother is not always the primary attachment figure, so it cannot be assumed that she always will be.  Nevertheless, when children are ready to let go and make friends, the attachment will change because they are going on their own instincts, thoughts, feeling and what their peers think and feel.