John Bowlby was a psychiatrist in London in the early 1900s whose work with children experiencing separation from their mothers led him to believe that infants have a universal need to form attachments with caregivers to ensure survival. He argued that separation from mothers caused extreme distress in children and shaped their long-term development, contradicting previous theories. Bowlby's research introduced the idea that children are born pre-programmed to attach to a primary caregiver, usually the mother, for continuous care during the first two years of life to develop healthy emotional and social skills.

2.  1907-1990
 Psychiatrist in a Child
Guidance Clinic in
London
 Caused him to think
about the importance
of relationship
between a child and
their mother
 Shaped his belief
about the link
between infant
separation with
mother and later
issues

3.  Children experience extreme distress
when separated from their mothers
 Even when taken care of by other
caregivers, they still have anxiety
 Contradicted behavioral theory of
attachment by Dollard and Miller
 Bowlby believed that infants have a
universal need to be close to caregivers

4.  Babies are born pre-programmed to
form attachments in order to survive
 Attachment is instinctive, but activated
by distress
 Fear of strangers represents healthy
survival mechanism

6.  A child is born with the need to attach to
one main person
 Child should receive continuous care for
this person for the first 2 years of life
 Long term maternal deprivation has
negative consequences
 Short term separation leads to distress
 Attachment relationship leads to internal
working model

8. McLeod, S. (2007, January 1). John Bowlby | Maternal
Deprivation Theory | Simply Psychology. Retrieved
December 11, 2014, from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html