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Attachment Theory. John Bowlby Breanna Robbins. John Bowlby (1907-1990). History John Bowlby was a British child psychiatrist who was one of the founders of the attachment theory. He had close workings with Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow.
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Attachment Theory John Bowlby Breanna Robbins
John Bowlby (1907-1990) • History • John Bowlby was a British child psychiatrist who was one of the founders of the attachment theory. • He had close workings with Mary Ainsworth and Harry Harlow. • These relationships helped shape his attachment theory. • As well as offering further development and research studies with the concern to attachment theory.
Attachment Theory • Bowlby’s theory has roots in psychoanalytic thought with additions of evolutionary and ethological concepts. • Attachment theory emphasizes the importance of interaction between parent/caregiver and child that results in emotional bonding. • Infant inborn behavior patterns and caregivers response: interaction.
Key Concepts • Affectionalbond: enduring tie to a partner. • Attachment: is a type of affectional bond in which a person’s sense of security is bound up in the relationship. • Internal working model: describes the mental representation of a child’s confidence(or lack of) that the attachment figure will be available or reliable.
Key Concepts (Ainsworth & Mary Main) • Secure Attachment: Child uses parent/caregiver as safe base and is easy to console after separation or being frightened. • *Emotional availability* & *Synchrony* • Insecure Attachment: Child does not use parent/caregiver as safe base and is not readily consoled by parent/caregiver. • Detached/Avoidant • Resistant/Ambivalent • Disorganized/Disoriented
Bowlby’s Stages of Attachment • Stage 1: Preattachment • Stage 2: Attachment in the making • Stage 3: True Attachment • Stage 4: Reciprocal relationships • Ages 3 or 4 • Goal-corrected partnership
Application • Adoption and Attachment • Adoption before 6 months • Adoption after 6 months • History of abuse or institutionalization • Importance of mental health professionals/social workers
Applications • Parents/Caregivers Responsiveness • What are the caregivers going through • Effects on infants ability to form secure attachments • Example: Lack of support • Postpartum depression
Applications • Multicultural • Differences in cultures must be taken into account • Infants in Japanese families are often seen as ambivalently attached. • Infants in German families are considerably more avoidant attached than American babies. • Why?
Interesting • “First Hug” • “Baby Cuddlers”
References Bee, H., & Boyd, D. (2012). The Developing Child. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Zastrow, H. C. (2013). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. LeRoy, H., Van der Horst, C. F., & Van der Veer, R. (2008). When strangers meet: John Bowlby and Harry Harlow on attachment behavior. Integrative Psychological & Behavior Science, 42(4), 370-388.doi:10.1007/s12124-008-9079-2