1.11: Bowlby's Attachment Theory (Ainsworth)
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Attachment theory is a lifespan model of human development emphasizing the central role of caregivers, or attachment figures, who provide the child with a sense of trust, safety and security. Attachment theory hypothesizes that early caregiver relationships establish social–emotional developmental foundations, but change remains possible across the lifespan due to interpersonal relationships during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Image Source: John Bowlby. British Psychological Society.
John Bowlby
John Bowlby (1907-1990) British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst believed that children want to form attachments with others. During the 1930s, Bowlby worked at a Child Guidance Clinic in London, treating numerous emotionally troubled children. Based on his experiences with these children, he noted the significance of a child’s relationship with their mother in shaping their social, emotional, and cognitive development. His understanding of the connection between early separations from the mother and subsequent maladjustment, lead him to develop his attachment theory, which emphasizes the importance of early emotional bonds between a child and their caregiver. He proposed that these bonds are vital for survival and emotional development, and serve as the foundation for future relationships.
Attachment Theory
Based on the style of a child's attachment to parents and other adults, Bowlby posited that young children develop pictures in their minds of what relationships look and feel like, and carry this picture into their other and future relationships. A child's specific attachment style will also impact learning.
Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive.
- Bowlby argued that a child forms many attachments, but one of these is qualitatively different, the primary attachment
- Bowlby suggests that there is a critical period for developing attachment (2.5 years).
- if an attachment has not developed during this time period, then it may not happen at all
- Bowlby later proposed a sensitive period of up to 5 years
- Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis suggests that continual attachment disruption between the infant and primary caregiver could result in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant.
- Bowlby notes that an internal working model exists as a mental representation or a cognitive framework that
- guides a person's expectations and behaviors in relationships
- ia an internalized script based on past experiences, particularly those with primary caregivers during early childhood, that
- influences how we understand ourselves, others, and relationships
- becomes a prototype for all future social relationships and allows individuals to predict, control, and manipulate interactions with others
A key factor of attachment theory is the internal working model, a thinking process built on past experiences and helps the individual consider responses and actions.
Image Source: Photo: JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images. WSJ website.
Mary Ainsworth
Mary Ainsworth (1913-1999), was a developmental psychologist from Canada, and a student of John Bowlby. She is predominantly known for her contributions to attachment theory, including the Strange Situation experiment, an assessment that measured the bond between mothers and their children – the Strange Situation. During this assessment, a researcher (the “stranger”) observes a child’s response to when their mother leaves them alone in a room.
We will learn more about attachment theories including the Strange Situation in a later chapter.
Sources
- McLeod, Saul. John Bowlby's Attachment Theory. SimplyPsychology.org. Updated April, 2025.
- The Attachment Project. © 2020-2025 MindOnly Pty Ltd