Emotional relationship Essay

In this essay I will be looking for at two theories of bail, an intense emotional relationship enduring over time and in which prolonged separation is accompanied by idiom and sorrow (Kagan et al 1982). I will also attempt to pass judgment the statement from Bowlby 58, where he says that Mother love in infancy is as important for mental health as are vitamins and protein for physical health. The two addition theories I will be looking at are Bowlbys 1953 Monotrophy Theory and Freuds Psychoanalytical Theory. Bowlby initially argued that attachment is an adaptive behaviour due to the human instinct to survive.Infants are natural with a predisposition to survive and therefore have to form an attachment in order to gain food, warmth and protection and so forth In order for this interaction to take place, the infant is born with Innate cordial Releasers that prompt care-giving from the parent done with(predicate) releasers such as crying and cooing etc. Infants also need to fo rm attachments in order to have a secure base from which to explore the world around them. This flush toilet be seen in securely attached infants, who are happy to explore an unacquainted with(predicate) room, as long as the mortal with whom they have their first-string flummox is present (Strange Situation- Ainsworth and Bell 1970).Bowlby described this primary bond as Monotrophy, import turning towards one person. He recognised that this bond doesnt forever and a day form with the biological mother, just the primary care giver. Adults also have a predisposition to care and be responsive to their offspring, as the extract of the infant into givinghood ensures the continuation of their genetic line. Therefore the have an inborn response to the infants social releasers. Bowlby suggested that infants have a Critical Period, up to 2 1/2 years, for attachments to form.If attachments were not made by this age, it would not be possible for the child to form each attachment and the child would satisfy long-term, permanent emotional damage, particularly in the formation of lasting adult relationships. This is due to the Internal Working Model according to Bowlby and by and by by Bretherton and Waters (1985) who said that secure children have cave ined a compulsory ca-caing model of themselves, based on their feelings of security derived from having a sensitive, emotionally responsive and supportive primary care-giver.It is therefore said that avoidant children have a rejecting, unresponsive caregiver, resulting in a negative working model of themselves. He also developed the Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis, where he claimed that infants who were unable to develop attachments would grow up having problems with relationships and have a higher chance of behavioural disorders. This hypothesis was supported by other psychologists such as Spitz and skirt chaser (1946) and Robertson and Robertson (1971). An alternative theory of attachment is the Psychosexua l theory put in front by Freud.He said there are five stages of phylogenesis a child goes through Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency and Genital. The stage that sleep togethers with attachment is the unwritten stage, which occurs from birth to about 18 months. Freud thought that during this time the infant is control by the Pleasure Principle. This is caused by the development of the Id, the first share of the personality to develop. The Id demands instant gratification and in the oral stage, gratification comes through the mouth.The drive for oral satisfaction is vital at this age as the attention is focused on food and thus, survival. There are cardinal parts to this stage of development the drive for oral gratification that results in an uncomfortable feeling, so the infant cries. He is then fed, and the drive is trim down and the uncomfortable feeling, hunger, is gone. This is experienced as pleasure. Therefore the attachment is made with the person who offers the gratificatio n and pleasure. Although at first glance, the two theories are very different, when analysed, similarities can be drawn.They both suggest stages the infant must go through in order to develop into a stable adult. Bowlby says that no childish attachment leads to problems in adult relationships and Freud says that an unsuccessful transition through any of the five stages will result in regression in later life, for example a child with an oral fixation will have his thumb, chew pen tops and in later life smoke. both of these points are true to a certain degree, as there as been countless studies about children who have had maternal deprivation in proterozoic infancy and grown up into maladjusted adults.However it is difficult to be able to pinpoint exactly what is the cause of an adults maladjusted behaviour as there may be numerous reasons, which cannot be reduced to maternal deprivation alone. One major difference between these theories is that while Bowlby recognises that the pr imary bond doesnt have to be with the mother, Freuds theory is dependant on the mother or wet nurse. This could lead to implications when trying to apply Freuds theory today, as many infants are not breast-fed at all.Bowlbys theory was very well received in the UK when it was published, as it came just after the second world war, when women were being encouraged to go back to the home and their children, so the men could return to the jobs in the factories etc. His theory gave the government something by which to almost force the women home, as the terror of a maladjusted child, due to your absence, was more than most women wanted to deal with. It was also one of the most important and influential pieces of psychological work of that century.