John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

The psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby (1907 – 1990) believed that the causes of mental health conditions and behavioral problems could be attributed to early childhood. In fact, John Bowlby’s attachment theory states that we are biologically preprogrammed to build bonds with others. and that these help us survive.

Bowlby was greatly influenced at a general level by ethological theory, but above all due to Konrad Lorenz’s study on imprinting carried out with ducks and geese in the 1950s. From this, Lorenz demonstrated the survival value of the attachment bond due to its innate nature.

So, Bowlby thought that attachment behaviors were instinctive and that furthermore, its activation depended on any condition that could threaten the achievement of proximity, such as separation, insecurity or fear.

Innate behaviors for survival

According to Bowlby, Fear of strangers is nothing more than a survival mechanism that babies have innately.. That is, babies are born with a tendency to display certain innate behaviors—called social releasers—that help ensure proximity and contact with the mother or attachment figure. It would then be an evolutionary question. In this way, according to Bowlby, the baby’s attachment to the mother would be an instinct for survival and protection.

Thus, Bowlby hypothesizes that Both babies and mothers have developed the biological need to stay in touch with each other. In fact, and This protective mechanism is what would have allowed babies to survive to have their own children and thus perpetuate the species. Attachment, in this case, would be a healthy relationship between mothers and children that would favor communication and the relationship between them.

Furthermore, these attachment behaviors function as fixed action patterns initially and also share the same function. Thus, Infants’ innate social release behaviors, such as crying and smiling, stimulate adult caregiving. Therefore, caregiving and responsiveness would be the determinants of attachment, rather than food.

Main points of John Bowlby’s attachment theory

The United Nations (UN) asked John Bowlby to make a pamphlet about the difficulties experienced by orphaned and homeless children after the Second World War. And from this, John Bowlby’s attachment theory emerged.

This theory is characterized by being is an interdisciplinary study that covers the fields of psychological, evolutionary and ethological theories. These are its main points:

1. – The child’s innate need for union with a main attachment figure (monotropy)

John Bowlby believed that it should There was a primary bond that was more important than others and qualitatively different, and that this was generally created with the mother. However, he did not rule out the possibility of the existence of other attachment figures for the child.

Essentially, Bowlby suggested that the nature of monotropy (attachment conceptualized as a close, vital bond with a single attachment figure) meant that If the maternal bond was not initiated or broken, serious negative consequences would occur., possibly including affectless psychopathy. Bowlby’s theory of monotropy led to the formulation of his maternal deprivation hypothesis.

The child behaves in a way that causes contact or proximity to the caregiver. When a child experiences increased arousal, he or she signals to his or her caregiver. Crying, smiling, and locomotion are examples of these signaling behaviors. Instinctively, caregivers respond to the behavior of the children in their care by creating a reciprocal pattern of interaction.

2. – A child must receive continuous care from the most important attachment figure during the first years of life

For Bowlby, if motherhood was delayed for two and a half or three years it would be almost useless. Furthermore, if delayed until after 12 months, children would experience a critical period. For the author, this time would represent a time in which the baby could express, in the long term, certain psychological and emotional problems that would affect her adult life.

If the attachment cypher is broken or disrupted during the critical two-year period, the child will suffer irreversible long-term consequences. of this maternal deprivation. This risk continues until the age of five. That is why, for Bowlby, this attachment is so important between mother and baby. Through it, negative consequences in the adolescent and adult life of the child would be avoided.

The underlying assumption of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis is that Continued disruption of primary attachment could lead to long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that baby. The implications of this are enormous. For example, if this is true, should the primary caregiver leave her child in daycare?

On the other hand, the long-term consequences of maternal deprivation could range from delinquency-related behavior to depression or psychopathy.

3. – Short-term separation from an attachment figure leads to distress

Bowlby, in collaboration with Robertson, found that distress passes through three progressive stages: protest, despair, and detachment.

Protest: The child cries, screams, and protests angrily when the attachment figure leaves. They will try to hold on to prevent it from leaving. The calls for attention can be increasing if you cannot find the attachment figure.Despair: the boy’s protests begin to stop, and they seem to be calmer although they are still annoying. The child refuses attempts at comfort from others and often seems disinterested in anything.Detachment: If the separation continues, the child will begin to interact with other people again. She will reject the caregiver upon her return and show strong signs of anger.

4. – The child’s attachment relationship with his or her primary caregiver leads to the development of an internal working model

The internal working model is a cognitive framework that comprises mental representations for understanding the world, self, and others.. A person’s interaction with others is guided by memories and expectations of their internal model that influence and help evaluate their contact with others.

By age three, the internal model appears to become part of a child’s personality and therefore affects his or her understanding of the world and future interactions with others. According to Bowlby, the primary caregiver acts as a prototype for future relationships through the internal working model. Hence, a healthy attachment model.

There are three main characteristics of the internal working model: a model of others as trustworthy, a model of self as valuable, and a model of self as effective when interacting with others. This mental representation is what guides social and emotional behavior in the future. as the child’s internal working model guides his or her receptivity toward others in general.

The stages of attachment

It is worth mentioning that the development of attachment does not occur immediately. On the contrary, achieving the relationship described above requires a process that goes through different stages:

Pre-attachment phase. During the first six weeks of life the baby accepts contact with anyone that can meet their physical and emotional needs. Training phase. In the following eight months the child begins to have separation anxiety due to lack of contact with adults. Interaction with strangers is not yet completely rejected nor is there a determining preference towards the maternal figure. Attachment phase. From this moment and for the next two years a true bond of attachment is established with the mother (or primary caregiver). The infant needs and seeks her attention and angrily accuses its absence. In addition, he begins to show rejection towards strangers. Reciprocal relations phase. It occurs after 24 months. Now the child can make mental representations of his mother and, therefore, understand that the separation is temporary and that the parent will be available even if there is no permanent physical contact.

From here on, attachment continues to transform. In adolescence there is a certain detachment from parental figures to reattach to new figures, the couple being one of the main ones in adulthood.

Types of attachment: implications of John Bowlby’s theory

John Bowlby’s attachment theory laid the foundation for interesting later research. Authors such as Mary Ainsworth or Hazan and Shaver studied the repercussions that attachment has on personality formation and in future functionality.

Thus, they found that depending on the type of attachment, the child (and later adult) will show certain characteristics:

Children who establish a secure attachment they feel confident in themselves and others. They develop healthy interdependence in their relationships and are able to bond effectively. This derives from the good responsiveness of their primary caregiver during their early years. Ambivalent attachment arises when the caregiver responds inconsistently and unpredictably to the child’s demands. This infant grows up being anxious and fearful and will constantly seek to reaffirm affection. of others.When the attachment figure does not respond to the needs and calls of the child, an avoidant attachment is created. These people will have difficulty bonding emotionally.they will tend towards excessive independence and flee from intimacy.In cases where the caregiver is aggressive, abusive or violent, disorganized attachment appears. In this case The child perceives himself as having little value and distrusts others. You may feel both eager and afraid to bond with others and will tend to suppress your emotions.

Should mothers dedicate themselves exclusively to caring for their children when they are small?

One of the main criticisms that John Bowlby’s attachment theory has received is related to the direct implication that said theory has. Should mothers dedicate themselves exclusively to caring for their children when they are small to avoid psychological consequences?

Weisner and Gallimore (1977) explain that Mothers are the exclusive caregivers in only a very small percentage of human societies. In fact, there are often several people involved…