Developmental Theory - A Review

Running head: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY – A REVIEW
Developmental Theory - A Review
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1DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY – A REVIEW
A secure attachment is needed for every child in order to receive the highest quality of
cognitive development. The attachment that a child experiences in its early childhood are said to
shape the path for the later development stages of his or her life. In order to help nurture a child,
it is of utmost importance that one offers the child, a support system which will provide them
with a chance to develop meaningful bonds that is to facilitate the later developmental phases
(Bowlby, 1982). The following paragraphs will examine the essence of developmental theories
that form the base of cognitive development. It will also review, analyze and critically evaluate
the same with the help of appropriate theoretical underpinnings.
An enduring and deep emotional bond that connects one person to another across space
and time can be termed as attachment. It must be noticed that certain behaviour in children is
characterizations of attachment. A child will always seek close proximity to the attachment
figure when it is upset or feel threatened by an external stimulus (Bowlby, J. 1977). Attachment
theory successfully deciphers the ways the parent-child relationship develops and influences in
subsequent development. John Bowlby, the pioneer in developing the framework of attachment
theory that focuses on the importance of the mother in the child’s life for the child to have a
successful emotional, social and cognitive development. It has been noticed that children faced
an extreme amount of stress when they were separated from their mother. Even when they were
fed by other caregivers, they remained in a constant state of distress. Findings like these
contradict the behavioural theory of attachment that inevitably undermined the role of the
mother-child bond in the development of a child’s psyche. Propagated by Dollard and Miller
(1950), it was believed that the child becomes attached to the mother because it is often fed,
mostly by the mother. It can also be understood from an evolutionary context. The child is highly
dependent on the mother, a constant caregiver because a mother enhances its chance of survival

2DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY – A REVIEW
by constantly offering warmth and protection from the external risk factors. Similarly William
Goldfarb (1947) suggests that a child must have a nurturing childhood where the caregiver, a
maternal figure must nurture the child. If a child lacks this period of cognitive development
without enjoying a deep emotional bond with the mother, it is going to be susceptible to
emotional distress later in life. A child thus must pay for the consequences that it may face
through the life, had it not received the company of the mother. The maternal deprivation
theories have also been propagated by Harlow and Harlow (1969) who drew a parallel analogy
with the help of study that was conducted on a group of infantile monkeys. It was found that the
monkeys who were deprived of the companionship and caregiving of a mother grew up to be
more aggressive as they also developed a problem in taking care of their siblings.
A similar viewpoint that Mary Ainsworth (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991) had, was all the
more similar. It included a method to study a group of babies and observe the intricate
behavioural details that the children showcase when they are separated from their mother. It
would include a one-year-old child who would first be separated from its mother and later
reunited with her. The child would also be introduced to a stranger and be left alone, on its own
which is a method to instil distress. The study would deduce that there are three predominant
categories of any kind of attachment which are insecure ambivalent infants, securely attached
and insecure avoidant (Clarke & Boinski, 1995). It has been reiterated over the decades that the
child would develop a knack for developing insecurity infused relationships throughout the life if
it is exposed to having a childhood or infancy without close proximity to his or her mother.
Belsky (1999) confirms this statement by drawing an analogy to the conditions of children who
are placed in day care. It has been inferred that a child is at higher risk of developing insecure