Bowlbys Theory of Attachment
Evaluating Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment
Bowlby (1969) proposed that millions of years of evolution had produced a behaviour that is essential to the survival chances of human infants. He believed that human babies are born helpless and totally independent on the primary caregiver producing the baby with food, warmth, shelter, for their well-being and survival – this helplessness and total independence on the primary caregiver acts as a social releaser making the caregiver have a caregiving reaction towards the baby helping to produce an attachment between the baby and the primary caregiver. Bowlby believed that if this attachment was not made during a sensitive period the infant would not be able to make attachments as the child grew up and wouldn’t be able to survive to a reproductive age.
Bowlby believed that children have an attachment gene which gives them the innate drive to become attached to a caregiver because attachment has long – term benefits, similar to the benefits of imprinting. Imprinting ensures that a young animal will stay close to a caregiver who will feed and protect the young animal -Imprinting is seen as an adaptive behaviour because of this (behaviours that increase the likelihood of survival and reproduction.
The innate nature of attachment was illustrated by Lorenz (1952) in his studies of imprinting in geese. Lorenz hatched two groups of geese eggs - one group stayed with their natural mother and the other group were hatched in an incubator. The first moving thing the incubator group saw when they hatched was Lorenz himself, and the geese immediately started to follow him around, when the incubator geese and natural mother geese were mixed together, they would quickly separate into the two original groups and follow either Lorenz or their natural mother. This meant that the incubator group fully depended on Lorenz so Lorenz had to teach them everything for their survival e.g. how to fly. This research supports the view that
Bowlby (1969) proposed that millions of years of evolution had produced a behaviour that is essential to the survival chances of human infants. He believed that human babies are born helpless and totally independent on the primary caregiver producing the baby with food, warmth, shelter, for their well-being and survival – this helplessness and total independence on the primary caregiver acts as a social releaser making the caregiver have a caregiving reaction towards the baby helping to produce an attachment between the baby and the primary caregiver. Bowlby believed that if this attachment was not made during a sensitive period the infant would not be able to make attachments as the child grew up and wouldn’t be able to survive to a reproductive age.
Bowlby believed that children have an attachment gene which gives them the innate drive to become attached to a caregiver because attachment has long – term benefits, similar to the benefits of imprinting. Imprinting ensures that a young animal will stay close to a caregiver who will feed and protect the young animal -Imprinting is seen as an adaptive behaviour because of this (behaviours that increase the likelihood of survival and reproduction.
The innate nature of attachment was illustrated by Lorenz (1952) in his studies of imprinting in geese. Lorenz hatched two groups of geese eggs - one group stayed with their natural mother and the other group were hatched in an incubator. The first moving thing the incubator group saw when they hatched was Lorenz himself, and the geese immediately started to follow him around, when the incubator geese and natural mother geese were mixed together, they would quickly separate into the two original groups and follow either Lorenz or their natural mother. This meant that the incubator group fully depended on Lorenz so Lorenz had to teach them everything for their survival e.g. how to fly. This research supports the view that