Who is john bowlby attachment theory

Konrad Lorenz supports Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis as the attachment process of imprinting is an innate process. Bowlby assumed that physical separation on its own could lead to deprivation but Rutter argues that it is the disruption of the attachment rather than the physical separation. This shows the influence of social factors. Bowlby did not take into account the quality of the substitute care. Deprivation can be avoided if there is good emotional care after separation.

As he believed the mother to be the most central care giver and that this care should be given on a continuous basis an obvious implication is that mothers should not go out to work. There have been many attacks on this claim:. McLeod, S. Bowlby's attachment theory. Simply Psychology. Bifulco, A. Mourning or early inadequate care? Reexamining the relationship of maternal loss in childhood with adult depression and anxiety. Development and Psychopathology, 4 03 , Bowlby, J.

Forty-four juvenile thieves: Their characters and home life. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 25 , Maternal care and mental health. World Health Organization Monograph. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 16 3 , Mother-child separation. Mental Health and Infant Development, 1, Symposium on the contribution of current theories to an understanding of child development.

British Journal of Medical Psychology, 30 4 , Attachment and loss: Vol. New York: Basic Books. Attachment and loss vol. London: Hogarth Press. Attachment, communication, and the therapeutic process. A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development , A two-year-old goes to hospital. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 46, — Bretherton, I. Internal working models revisited.

Shaver Eds. New York: Guilford Press. Harlow, H. The development of affective responsiveness in infant monkeys. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, , Hodges, J. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30 1 , Lorenz, K.

Der Kumpan in der Umwelt des Vogels. The depressed mother and her one-year-old infant: Environment, interaction, attachment, and infant development. Field Eds. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Radke-Yarrow, M. Patterns of attachment in two-and three-year-olds in normal families and families with parental depression. Child development , Rutter, M. Maternal deprivation, New findings, new concepts, new approaches. Child Development , Stress, coping and development: Some issues and some questions.

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22 4 , Schaffer, H. He developed explanatory hypothesis about human attachment behaviour by researching extensively on the ethology literature. He gave the concepts of human behavior that are environmentally stable and rejected the cupboard love attachment theory.

John Bowlby described the concept of attachment as the lasting psychological connectedness between human beings. He shared his psychoanalytic view that early childhood experiences have a significant impact on the development and behavior of children in their later life. He believed that attachment also helps in survival, suggesting that children are biologically pre-programmed to create attachments with others around them in order survive in this world.

He believed that attachment behaviors are present in instincts that are activated when a child faces any threatening conditions to his survival like fear, insecurity and separation.

He also suggested that there should be a deep and intimate attachment between a child and his mother for the first two years so that the child does not face maternal deprivation in his later life.

He died on 2 nd September Attachment, exploration, and separation: Illustrated by the behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. Child Dev. Main, M. Yogman Eds , Affective development in infancy , pp. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex. Harlow HF. The nature of love.

American Psychologist. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. Lyons-ruth K. Attachment relationships among children with aggressive behavior problems: The role of disorganized early attachment patterns.

J Consult Clin Psychol. Childhood attachment and adult personality: A life history perspective. Self and Identity. The nature of the child's tie to his mother. International Journal of Psychoanalysis. The development of social attachments in infancy. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellMind. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page.

These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Attachment Theory. Stages of Attachement. Patterns of Attachment. Impact of Early Attachment. The Theme of Attachment Theory The central theme of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are available and responsive to an infant's needs allow the child to develop a sense of security.

Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Bowlby, J. Attachment and loss. OKS Print. New York: Basic Books.