Sameroff and Fiese (2000) criticised Bowlby’s attachment theory as being too simplistic because
it failed to capture real life situations. They argued in their transactional model, that individuals
were subject to multiple influences as demonstrated by Bronfenbrenner’s (1998) ecological
model. Attachment theory gave the impression of a deterministic cause and effect situation and
failed to capture the mutual or reciprocal effects of the children and adults. Despite the criticisms,
attachment theory remains one of the most powerful contemporary accounts of social and
emotional development available to science (Piano, 2004). Attachment theory had important
implications for social work practice.