1.2.5 debate - mother as the primary care giver for and against Flashcards
What is a primary care giver
Person who is most responsible for an infants health, development and wellbeing
What does the debate propose
That there is such a thing as a ‘primary care giver’ and it should be the mother
Outline the main arguements for the mother being the primary care giver
- Feeding (NHS)
- Freud - the role of the mother in development of personality
- Bowlby - Monotropy
- The role of day care
- Mothers not fathers
What did Freud believe infants depend on their mother for
- To satisfy the needs of their libido
- Smooth passage through the oral stage of the psychosexual stages
- Over indulgance or frustration in the oral stage (breast feeding from mother) could lead to emotional problems later in life, such as neediness or pessimism
What did Freud belive causes seperation anxiety
The infant realising that their bodily needs will go unsatisfied in seperation occurs
Who supports Freuds theory on seperation anxiety
widely supported by modern psychologists including Ainsworth and Bell
What did Freud state was crucial in the development of masculinity or feminintiy
The relationship between the mother and the child during the phallic stage through the oedipus/electra complex
What did Freud claim about a mothers love
The mothers love acts as a protoype for every relationship the infant will go on to have in their lifetime
What does monotropy mean
concept that infants have an innate and inborn capacity to attach primarily to a single caregiver or attachment figure. This concept was proposed by John Bowlby and is a component of attachment theory. This is an evolutionary stance.
How did Bowlby share Freuds view that The mothers love acts as a protoype for every relationship the infant will go on to have in their lifetime
Bowlby sugessted that children form an ‘internal working model’ or template for all future relationships based on the one they shared with their primary care giver (continuity hypothesis)
What was Bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis
- Early and prolonged seperation from the mother can have lasting emotional effects
- This seperation is likely to lead to an affectionless psychopath
- Which can lead to a person becoming a thief or have difficulty forming relationships
What did Bowlby quote in terms of the mother being the primary care giver
How did Bowlby describe the first 2 years of life
- The critical period
- Any disruption or break in the attachment during this period would have negative long term consequences like aggression and delinquency
What is recomended by the NHS and World health organisation in terms of breastfeeding
- Infants are breastfed for at least the first 6 months of their lives
- Gives the healthiest start for individuals as it protects them from disease and infections
What does the NHS also claim about breast feeding
- It can build a strong physical and emotional bond between mother and baby
- This is important in subsequent emotional devlopment
Why does breastfeeding create a bond between baby and mother
- The release of the hormone oxytocin in the mother when breastfeeding promotes bonding
- This makes the mother more likely to interact with and care for the baby than other care givers
- Especially as the number a oxytocin receptors in the mothers brain increses during pregnancy
What does this argument mean
- The infants mother is the individual who is going to need to be available to feed the infant; possibly every 2 hours
- It is practical and essential that the mother is the primary care giver
- Anyone els including the father, is limited to a supporting care giving role
What did Belksy suggest in terms of the role of the day care
Children who spend early, extensive and continuous time in the care of non-relatives are more likely to show later behavioural problems, such as aggressivness and disobedience
What did the findings of Aric Sigman suggest in terms of the role of day care
- Children have elavated levels of cortisol in day care
- The hormone is linked to stress related illness’s such as heart disease, dementia and increased illness frequency
What does all this suggest about day care
It is less healthy for the child to be at day care rather than at home
Why may women be better suited than men to be primary care givers
- Most men are not psychologically equiped to form such an emotionally intense relationship (could be biological or sociological factors)
- Female hormonse oestrogen underlies caring behaviour so that women, generally, are more orientated towards emotional relationships than men
Outline the arguments that the mother doesnt need to be the primary care giver
- Feeding - Harlow
- Multiple attachments - Schaffer and Emmerson
- Rutter- alternative view of role of mother and impacts of seperation
- Role of the father - hormonal influences
- Freud - outdated
- Bowlby
- Evidence for men being capable
What did Harlow use monkeys for
To show how important comfort was in the care giving bond
What did Harlow find with the monkeys
- When given a choice between a warm cloth mother or a wire mother than provided food, the monkeys sought and attached to the cloth mother.
- They also sought the cloth mother when they were scared
