Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

Attachment is defined as the basic and intimate emotional bond that develops between the infant and caregivers. Unconvinced with the psychoanalytic view that the child’s love of mother derived from oral gratification, psychologist John Bowlby began to formulate an attachment theory based on evolutionary concepts proposed by Lorenz and Tinbergen.

He asserted that attachment behavior that evolved through a process of natural selection has adaptive value that enables the infant a greater opportunity of survival. His work was a major departure from the Freudian views, which put less emphasis on actual interaction and relationship (Bowlby, 1969).