Support for this can be found when Hodge and Tizard found that children who were in care and were unable to form attachments had difficulty in forming relationships throughout their childhood and into adulthood. Although Bowlby’s theory is generally accepted as the prevalent theory, it does have criticisms. First
Firstly, he imposed that the attachments are innate; i.e. Attachment is biologically pre-programmed into children at birth and are encoded in the human genes, to ensure that they can form relationships with the caregiver. He also argued that there were critical periods for attachment which included the 23rd, 24th and 25th day when the child develops limbs, as well as the second trimester where development of the brain occurs. This period is crucial as, if something goes wrong, the child is likely to suffer from impairments, like schizophrenia. Birth is also another vital period as late or early conception can also lead to impairments, as well as walking and talking which should be learned by the age of 4.
‘The time is ripe for a unification of Psychoanalytical concepts with those of Ethology’ J Bowlby 1953 Bowlby’s theory begins with the idea that we are all born with innate drives, this comes from the Darwinist theory that all characteristics have survival value, Bowlby would consider attachment to be one of these characteristics. Part of these innate drives is the idea that we are all born with social releasers, Social releasers promote attachment between the child and it’s primary care giver (P.C.G). A releaser such as crying elicits care giving from others nearby. The person who responds most sensitively to the child’s releasers will become the P.C.G. The relationship between child and P.C.G becomes the most important in the child’s life.
Other people are involved in the baby’s life and it is possible for them to form attachments to their other family members/friends. Babies can think for themselves. These factors are also involved in the formation of attachment. Bowlby’s theory was influenced by Freud’s and the evolutionary theory in 1951. He was supported by the work of Lorenz and he suggested that attachment must be formed within a critical period before the child is 2 years old.
Bowlby put forward a theory of attachment based upon the assumption that attachments are formed due to their evolutionary advantages. The theory states that attachments are adaptive and become attached because of the long term benefits such as feeding and protection from a caregiver. It also states that infants have social releasers which are physical and behavioural characteristics that elicit an innate tendency to look after, such as smiling or crying. The attachment is a monotropic attachment to the mother which occurs within the critical period, which is from birth to two and a half years of age. This attachment helps the infant to form an internal working model which is a schema for all future relationships.
The way in which the child behaves during the strange situation is determined by the behaviour the care giver presents to the child. For example insecure children are associated with inconsistent mothers and absent child are associated with unresponsive mothers (Oates, 2005). The desired attachment categorise is secure attachment.secure children are confident that the attachment figure will meet their needs, that they will provide a safe base. The children are easily soothed and look to the figure during distress or upset, these attachments are formed if the figure responses to their needs and is sensitive to their signals (Oates, 2005). As described by winncot ‘ good enough mothers’.
It is believed the development has a biological process and this can be predicted over time. E.g. a child should be able to walk and talk at a given age. Nature Physical appearance Physical appearance is affected by our nature because our genes are what determine how we look. Our genes are inherited from our parents meaning that we tend to look like our parents and have the same or similar features from one or both of them.
Bowlby argued that the attachment behaviours in both caregivers and babies evolved ensuring the survival of the baby until maturity and reproduce. Babies produce instincts like crying and smiling which encourages the caregiver to look after it. Parents especial mothers as per to Bowlby have instincts to protect their baby from harm and nurture them ensuring their survival until maturity. Those babies and mother who don’t possess these behaviours have been less successful. A second most important concept in Bowlby’s theory was the idea of monotrophy a single attachment to one person who is most important to the baby.
They found that it was the most popular form of attachment and is related to healthy development as the infants use the caregiver as a secure base form to explore and to function independently in the future. On the other hand infants with an insecure-avoidant attachment types tend to avoid social interaction and intimacy with others. They show little response to separation and do not seek the proximity of their caregiver on reunion. These types of infants are happy to explore with or without the presence of their caregiver. They show high level of anxiousness as well as avoidant behaviour and may become angry when their attachment needs are not met.
In addition, children will learn to argue with each other the same way their parents do. So a good parent must behave in order for his kids to do the same. Secondly, a good parent must have a good attitude. I believe that a reasonable attitude makes a child feel pleasant about the teaching of his parent. For example, when a child acts in a harmful manner, a good parent tells him that such behavior is unacceptable, suggest alternatives, explains this to him and avoids statements such as “You were bad”.