Outline Bowlby's Evolutionary Theory of Attachment

Bowlby (1958) defines attachment as a species-specific system that has evolutionary advantages and contributes to reproductive fitness. This is initially a biological relationship which then becomes a cognitive, social and emotional model. Bowlby states that a child forms this attachment with their primary caregiver who provides a secure base from which the child can explore. This allows the child to explore the environment and learn, whilst having somewhere safe to return when they are frightened. The caregiving part of the system describes the caregiver's sensitivity to their child's needs: behaviours such as crying and screaming will elicit the caregiver to respond by providing food, water or comfort. In this way the system ensures the successful development of the child.Bowlby stated that this evolutionary relationship would only form during the critical period which is between birth and two and half years. However, a study by Rutter et al (1998) found that Romanian Orphans who were adopted outside of the critical period were able to form attachments, although this took much longer. Therefore it can be suggested that attachments can form at later ages, but optimal conditions are during the critical period.(continuity hypothesis)