Attachment Theory John Bowlby

Attachment Theory John Bowlby

1. Bowlby rejected view that babies as passive - noted how babies actively seeked interactions with others

   • from very first months babies look, reach, smile and make noises to draw people into communication
     • Up until 6 months babies actevely seek to establish relationships with people around them but after 6 months they are replaced by significant relationships.
       • Phase 1. Birth to 2-3 months - pays attention to people Phase 2 3-6 months - more responsive to mother figure Phase 3 - 6 months to 2 yrs - follows mother, withdraws from strangers, less friendly to others Phase 4 - 2 plus - develops insight into mothers feelings, motives and plans

2. Secure and insecure attachments - research by Mary Ainsworth key collaborator with Bowlby

   • Secure realtionships - highly enjoyable mutally satisfying relationships - more sensitive to babies signals
   • Insecure relationships - muted and insecure

3. Attachment - Not just Mothers a scure attachment can be realised with the primary care giver.

   • different attachment figures are used by children in different ways - normally one or two dominate.
     • an attachment figure is a secure base
       • Secure base from which to explore the world - Humans need to adapt to ever change world and situations , we need to interpret responces and what will happen next - Models in our minds - our first Model constructed in the mind is of his or her mother - enables the child to understand thier own self and the world around them and their place within it.
         • Humans have an natural instint to explore the world around them, having a secure base in a good attachment enables the child to do this successfully with confidence to develop rather than feeling vulnerable.