John Bowlby's Theory of Attachment

John Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment
Student:
Professor:
Course title:
Date:
John Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment
Whenever an individual is emotionally bonded with someone else, attachment usually begins. Nonetheless, the things which take place with the presence of an attachment are actually not easy to understand. As such, attachment theorists emerged. John Bowlby is arguably the most well-known of this grouping of theorists considering that he was actually the first psychologist who initiated a wide-ranging study on attachment (Cherry 2009, p. 12). Attachment, according to John Bowlby, is what really keeps a child connected to his or her mother taking into consideration that only the baby’s parent can satisfy the baby’s needs (Kirkpatrick 2012, p. 234). This paper provides a critical evaluation of John Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment with reference to clinical and theoretical issues. The critical evaluation comprises the identification of limitations and strengths of the theory with regard to its application to practice. A discussion of how this theory is applicable in my work with clients is provided – balance of theory and practice.
Account of John Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment
Bowlby (1997, p. 12) stated that attachment theory is essentially focused on the bonds as well as relationships between individuals, especially lasting relationships including the relationships between a child and a parent as well as the relationships between romantic partners. John Bowlby was the leading theorist on the subject of attachment. He defined attachment as a long-term emotional linkage between persons. John Bolby was born in 1907 and died in 1990 (Waters et al., 2009, p. 240). According to John Bowlby, the initial ties formed by kids with their caregivers or mothers have a major impact that actually goes on all through their life. Bowlby stated that attachment also keeps the baby close to the mother/caregiver and in so doing improves the infant’s chances of survival. John Bowlby saw attachment as a product of the processes of evolution (Bowlby 2005, p. 61). Whereas behavioural theories of attachment proposed that attachment was simply a learned process, John and others suggested that kids are born with a natural drive to form attachments with their caregivers. All through history, kids who upheld proximity to an attachment figure were in fact more likely to be given protection and comfort, and were thus more probable to live to adulthood (Dent 2010, p. 18).
Behaviourists proposed that food is what determines successful attachment behaviour between a caregiver and a child. John Bowlby and others, nonetheless, showed that responsiveness and nurturance were the main determinants of attachment (Mikulincer & Shaver 2008, p. 99). In attachment theory, the central theme is that primary caregivers who are both available and are responsive to the needs of the infant allow the baby to develop a sense of security. In essence, the child knows that his or her caregiver is reliable; this serves to create a secure base for the baby to then explore the world (Holmes 2014, p. 45).
Main Points of John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
An infant has a natural need to attach to a single k...