John Bowlby
John Bowlby
The founder of Attachment Theory, Bowlby showed that the emotional bond formed with a caregiver in early infancy shapes relationship patterns throughout life. He scientifically demonstrated the critical importance of secure attachment.
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John Bowlby (1907–1990)
A British psychiatrist and developmental psychologist, John Bowlby is the founder of Attachment Theory. He scientifically established how decisive the emotional bond between infants and their primary caregivers is for human development.
Bowlby explained attachment from an evolutionary perspective. He argued that an infant's drive to maintain proximity to a caregiver is an instinctive survival system. When a caregiver serves as a Secure Base, the child feels safe enough to explore the world.
He introduced the concept of the Internal Working Model — the expectations and beliefs about oneself and others formed through early attachment experiences, which become the blueprint for all later relationships. A child with secure attachment comes to feel worthy of love and to trust that others are reliable. Bowlby's theory has had far-reaching influence on child welfare policy, parenting practices, and the psychology of adult relationships.
*Mindy's note: The security we experience in our earliest relationships quietly shapes how we show up in every connection we form later in life.*
💡 Real-Life Example
Early attachment experiences form an internal working model that becomes the blueprint for all subsequent relationships.
This content is for educational purposes and does not replace professional medical diagnosis.