Bowlby's theory of monotropy led him to formulate his hypothesis of maternal deprivation. The relationship with the mother is, in a way, completely different from other relationships.īowlby suggested that the nature of monotropy (conceptualized attachment as a vital link to one person) meant one thing: if the maternal connection did not exist or if it broke, serious consequences would occur.This would possibly include psychopathy without affect. A child has the innate need to unite with a main attachment figure (monotropy)Īlthough he did not dismiss other figures of attachment for a child, Bowlby thought that there was a primary bond much more important than any other (usually with the mother).Īccording to him, this link is qualitatively different from those that will follow.The attachment theory of John Bowlby is an interdisciplinary study that includes the fields of psychological, evolutionary and ethological theories.Here are his main ideas: The theory of attachment arises from the questions raised during the elaboration of this work. This text was entitled "maternal deprivation". The United Nations (UN) asked John Bowlby to write a text on this subject. Essentials of John Bowlby's Attachment TheoryĪfter the Second World War, orphans and homeless children presented many difficulties. The baby produces innate "social liberation" behaviors, such as crying and smiling, that stimulate the attention of adults.The determining factor of attachment is not food but attention and responsiveness.
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These attachment behaviors initially work as fixed action patterns. Bowlby posited the hypothesis that babies and mothers would have developed a biological need to maintain contact with each other. Throughout the evolution of the human species, babies who have remained close to their mothers would have survived to have their own children.