Attachment Theory

1. John Bowlby
• Edward John Mostyn Bowlby
• British psychologist, psychiatrist
and psychoanalyst.
• Born on February 27, 1907 in
London
• He married Ursula Longstaff on
April 1938 and had four children.
• Died on Sept. 2, 1990 at the age
of 83 on the Isle of Skye,
Scotland.
• Coined the term Attachment
• Key idea is Attachment Theory

2. Attachment theory in psychology originates with the seminal
work of John Bowlby (1958). In the 1930’s John Bowlby worked
as a psychiatrist in a Child Guidance Clinic in London, where he
treated many emotionally disturbed children. This experience
led Bowlby to consider the importance of the child’s relationship
with their mother in terms of their social, emotional and
cognitive development. Specifically, it shaped his belief about
the link between early infant separations with the mother and
later maladjustment, and led Bowlby to formulate his
attachment theory.

3. What is Attachment?
• Attachment can be defined as a unique
emotional bond between caregiver and
a child that involves an exchange of
comfort, care and pleasure. The roots
of attachment began with Freud's theories
about love, however John Bowlby's
research usually credits him as the,
“father of attachment”.

4. Bowlby described it as a “lasting
psychological connectedness between
human beings.” Bowlby believed that
mental health and behavioral problems
could be attributed to early childhood. He
suggested that children come into the world
biologically pre-programmed to form
attachments with others because this will
help them to survive.

5. Bowlby believed that attachment behaviors are
instinctive and will be activated by any
conditions that seem to be threaten the
achievement of proximity, such as separation,
insecurity and fear. He also postulated that the
fear of stranger represents an important
survival mechanism, built in by nature. Babies
are born with the tendency to display certain
innate behaviors called social releasers which
help ensure proximity and contact with the mother
or attachment figure.

6. Main Points of Bowlby’s Theory
1. A child has an innate need to attach to one
main attachment figure.
2. A child should receive the continuous care of
this single most important attachment figure
for approximately the first two years of life.
3. The long term consequences of maternal
deprivation might include the following.
• Delinquency
• Reduced intelligence
• Increased aggression
• Depression
• Affectionless psychopathy

7. 4. Bowlby believed that short term separation from an
attachment figure leads to distress.
They found 3 progressive stages for distress:
A. Protest – The child cries, screams and protests
angrily when the parent leaves. They will try to cling
to the parent to stop them leaving.
B. Despair – The child’s protesting begins to stop
and they appear to be calmer although still upset.
The child refuses others’ attempts for comfort and
often seems withdrawn and uninterested in
anything.

8. C. Detachment – If separation continues the child will
start to engage with other people again. They will reject
the caregiver on their return and show strong signs of
anger.
5. The child’s attachment relationship with their primary
caregiver leads to the development of an internal
working model.
There are 3 main features of the internal working model.
1. A model of others as being trustworthy
2. A model of self as valuable
3. A model of the self as effective interacting
with others.

9. Characteristics of Attachment
Proximity Maintenance
The desire to be near the people we are attached to.
Safe Haven
Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety
in the face of a fear or threat.
Secure Base
The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which
the child can explore the surrounding environment.
Separation Distress or Anxiety
Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment.