Bowlby and Rutter + Attachment experiments Flashcards
What was Bowlby’s theory?
First 2 and a half years of a child’s life are most important for emotional development and social behaviors. Children are biologically predisposed to form attachments with caregivers ,which are crucial for emotional and social development. Importance of strong secure bonds in early childhood.
Bowlby said that babies need one central person who is a ‘mother figure’ he believed that they were biologically programmed to form attachments, and that infancy is a critical period for forming positive attachments He believed that children who had been separated from their parents are more likely to suffer psychological problems later in life.
What was Rutter’s critic of Bowlby’s theory?
Rutter said that maternal deprivation may not in itself result in long term problems but feels that privation - (deprived of any form of attachment due to lack of social or intellectual stimulation. ) is far more damaging.
What did Bowlby say would happen if attachment was disrupted during the key stage?
If the attachment is disrupted this can lead to negative affects later in life such as delinquency, antisocial behaviour, affectionless psychopathy and depression.
What is Bowlby’s internal working model?
A child’s expectations and assumptions about their relationships with others based on their experiences with their caregiver.
What are the attachment styles? (Bowlby)
Secure Attachment = Healthy bond with caregiver, trusting, seeks comfort, explores confidently
Avoidant Attachment = Avoids closeness with caregiver, independent, emotionally distant, avoids comfort
Ambivalent Attachment = Inconsistent bond with caregiver, anxious, clingy, uncertain availability
Disorganized Attachment = Confused bond with caregiver, erratic behavior, fear, lack of strategy
What is the critical period of attachment and what happens if it is disrupted?
Bowlby (1951) claimed that mothering is almost useless if delayed until after two and a half to three years and, for most children, if delayed till after 12 months, i.e., there is a critical period. If the attachment figure is broken or disrupted during the critical two-year period, the child will suffer irreversible long-term consequences of this maternal deprivation. This risk continues until the age of five.
What is Maternal Deprivation?
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis suggests that continual attachment disruption between the infant and primary caregiver could result in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant. He used the term maternal deprivation to refer to the separation or loss of the mother as well as the failure to develop an attachment.
What is a criticism of Bowlby’s Maternal deprivation theory?
The underlying assumption of Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis is that continual disruption of the attachment between infant and primary caregiver (i.e., mother) could result in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant. The implications of this are wide spread because if his theory is true the up until 5 should the primary caregiver give up work or leave their child in daycare and risk insecure attachment
What is Attachment?
Attachment is the term used to describe the bond between a baby and it’s main carer. It is the label given to the emotional bond between children and parents
A secure attachment to main caregiver means that a child will feel secure, loved and have a sense of belonging; they are protectors, making the child feel happy, secure and confident. The main carers ensure that the child have the physical, mental and emotional nourishment to develop healthily.
What was Bowlby’s Duckling Experiment?
The ducklings follow and remain close to their mother at all times.
In nature animals follow only their mother , which prevents them from being attacked by other animals
What is Harlow’s Rhesus Monkeys experiment?
Harlow’s 1963 research with monkeys helps to demonstrate that babies need a ‘mother like’ figure to attach to.
Infant monkeys were separated from their natural mother and placed in cages with to substitute mothers made from wire to look like real monkeys.
One wire monkey was made from wire and provided food. The other was soft, padded and covered with terry towel
The monkeys showed a preference for the soft padded monkey.
They would only go to the wire monkey for food.
The monkeys wanted a warm, comfortable object to cling to for security, which represents the need for attachment with the caregiver over the need for survival.
What are some criticisms of Bowlby’s theory?
Quality over presence: the emotional quality of caregiving is what matters most, not just the mother-child bond.
Multiple attachments: children benefit from bonds with multiple caregivers, not just one primary attachment.
Deprivation is reversible: With proper care and support children can recover and heal from deprivation, particularly in cases of adoption or foster care.
Environmental factors: Family circumstances and social environments play a critical role in a child’s development, beyond just parental presence.
A child needs, support, encouragement, love, play, fun, social and more not just warmth, food, water and survival.
There is an argument in that Bowlby believes that attachment is natural others believe it is a learned behaviour from influencing factors such as culture, environment and how the babies temperament is.
According to Bowlby, what is separation anxiety?
Separation anxiety is a response to parental inconsistency or absence in childhood. If separation from the primary caregiver occurs during the critical period and there is no adequate substitute emotional care, the child will suffer from deprivation. This will lead to irreversible long-term consequences in the child’s intellectual, social, and emotional development.
