Describe and evaluate Bowlby's theory of attachment.. 10 marks

Fourth there is ‘Deprivation’ this is when a child has formed an attachment to a care giver, but this attachment is broken through separation deprivation. Bowlby said children experience deprivation if they are separated from a caregiver for a week or longer in the first five years of their life another name used is ‘Maternal deprivation’ this can cause  children to be clingy or over demanding, may develop a phobia about going out or to school. Those who experience maternal deprivation were more likely to become ‘affectionless psychopaths’ this could happen with children who had been in hospital, parents have gone to prison, children taken away by social services or if the parent is in the army. Furthermore Bowlby also thought that Infants give off signals that make people want to care for them.  These signals include:  crying, smiling and looking cute.  Social releasers have evolved in order to maximise the survival of infants by keeping a caregiver close. Lastly is the ‘Internal working model’ through monotropic attachment, the infant would form an internal working model. This is a special model for relationships, all the children’s future adult relationships will be based on the relationship the infant has and develops with the primary caregiver for example if they are not shown affection such as being told ‘I love you’ or being given hugs when older the child will struggle to be affectionate towards their partner.

This theory does not take into account that children can develop multiple attachments, there is evidence that children can actually bond with many different people including fathers, grand-parents or even paid carers. This point disagrees with Bowlbys theory because he believed we can only form one solid bond with our mothers (Monotropy). Following this the critical period is to extreme because this may not be a critical period but just a sensitive one, so maybe the first three years is the best time to form an attachment but not the only time there is still an opportunity after this even though this contradicts Bowlbys theory because he was sure that the only period to form attachment was form birth up until 2 ½ years. The theory can explain why attachments become fully developed at about the same time that a child starts to move.  As the child become mobile a mechanism is required that makes it want to stay close to its attachment figure. Another evaluation point is that attachment is learnt or innate; this links to the theory because Bowlby believed that the ability for form attachment was innate.