ATTACHMENT

n
THEORY
BY:JOHN BOWLBY
•John Bowlby, in full Edward John Mostyn Bowlby

• British developmental psychologist and psychiatrist

best known as the originator of attachment theory.

•He was born on February 26, 1907 in London, England

•He married Ursula Longstaff on April 1, 1938

and had four children.

•He died on September 2, 1990 at the age of 83 on the

Isle of Skye, Scotland.
 ATTACHMENT THEORY/ THE EMOTIONAL
BOND

→A theory that refers to a deep, long-term bond that forms

between caregiver and infant.

→Attachment theory centers on the notion that

emotionally responsive care, including love and nurturance
from primary caregiver, is essential for healthy and normal
development.
•John Bowlby’s assistant and long-term collaborator Mary Ainsworth undertook the research on infant-
parent separations that established a better understanding of these individual differences.

Attachment Styles

1.Secure Attachment
→infants use their caregiver as a secure base to explore the world.

2.Avoidant Attachment
→Children who exhibit avoidant attachment are insecure in their attachment to
the caregiver.
3.Resistant Attachment
→Mood-swings attachment.

4.Disorganized Attachment
→often displayed by children who have been subjected to abuse,
neglect, or inconsistent parenting practices.
Bowlby specified four phases during which children develop attachment
to their caretakers.

▪PHASES OF ATTACHMENT
PHASE 1: Birth to 3 months
→ During the first 3 months, infants respond to people but they don’t distinguish between them.
PHASE 2: From 3 to 6 Months

→Infants start to differentiate between people, and they begin to reserve their attachment behavior for the people.

PHASE 3: From 6 Months to 3 Years

→Infants start to have separation anxiety, and start to fear strangers.

PHASE 4: From 3 Years Until Childhood Ends

→Children start to comprehend that their caretakers have goals and plans of their own.
 Characteristics of Attachment
1. Safe Haven
  →The child rely on his/her caregiver.
2.Secure Base
→The attachment figure acts as a base security.
3.Proximity Maintenance
→Aims to explore but still tries to stay close to the caregiver.
4.Separation Distress
→Anxiety occurs in the absence of the attachment figure.
THANK YOU!