Attachments and early relationships
What is attachment?
- Its an emotional bond bet. Infant and caregiver that provides a basis for later
psychological development and adjustment.
- Harris (1993), ‘an enduring emotional tie that develops between the infant and other
significant people’
Nature and functions (SCHAFFER, 2003) – relevant to emotional development and
potentially personality development
- Selective- focused on specific individuals
- Physical proximity seeking- an effort is made to maintain physical closeness
- Provide comfort and security – as a result of physical proximity
- Separation anxiety when the tie is severed and proximity can’t be obtained
Food or comfort?
Behaviourists believe parents are positively associated with food and care
Harlow and Zimmerman decided to study this: (1958)
- Monkeys separated from mother at birth
- They were provided with two surrogate mothers:
o A wire mother who provided food
o A cloth mother who had no food
o more likely to spend most time with cloth mother, only went to wire mother
for food
o suggested baby monkeys preferred the physical comfort and bond rather
than the food.
When do attachments develop?
Bowlby (1965) proposed a critical period in which attachment should occur, based on prior
work with geese
Konrad Lorenz
- proposed geese would form a bond with the first thing they saw moving after
hatching
- these geese were removed from their mothers before hatching
- they ‘imprinted’ or bonded with Konrad’s boots as this was the first thing they saw
move
- critical period for geese= 30days
, Developments of attachment (Schaffer, 2003) ::
Linked to object permanence?
- This is when children learn that an object does not cease to exist even though it is
not still there and they cant see it.
- Children were assessed for: (Lester et al., 1974)
o Separation anxiety (crying and reduced playing when left alone)
o Object permanence
- 9 and 12 month olds who passed the object permanence test also showed increased
signs of separation anxiety, those who failed the test showed reduced signs of
separation anxiety this suggests that potentially children start to display separation
anxiety when they cant see their mother but know their mother still exists and has a
life without them
Consequences of limited attachment
Critical period for attachments to form
Bowlby (1956): 6months – 4years is critical
- Infants who were separated from their mother displayed:
o Failure to smile at a face
o Failure to respond to a ‘coo’
o Poor appetite no matter how desirable the food
o Failure to gain weight, irrespective of how nourishing the food is
o Sleeping badly
o Lower IQ
Maternal deprivation
- Bowlby proposed prolonged separation from primary caregiver will cause personality
disorder or delinquency (could be paternal also)
- Compared 44 thieves to 44 emotionally disturbed people:
o Found that thieves were much more likely to have ‘affectionless characters’
o And were more likely to have suffered prolonged separation (>6months) in
the first year of life
What is attachment?
- Its an emotional bond bet. Infant and caregiver that provides a basis for later
psychological development and adjustment.
- Harris (1993), ‘an enduring emotional tie that develops between the infant and other
significant people’
Nature and functions (SCHAFFER, 2003) – relevant to emotional development and
potentially personality development
- Selective- focused on specific individuals
- Physical proximity seeking- an effort is made to maintain physical closeness
- Provide comfort and security – as a result of physical proximity
- Separation anxiety when the tie is severed and proximity can’t be obtained
Food or comfort?
Behaviourists believe parents are positively associated with food and care
Harlow and Zimmerman decided to study this: (1958)
- Monkeys separated from mother at birth
- They were provided with two surrogate mothers:
o A wire mother who provided food
o A cloth mother who had no food
o more likely to spend most time with cloth mother, only went to wire mother
for food
o suggested baby monkeys preferred the physical comfort and bond rather
than the food.
When do attachments develop?
Bowlby (1965) proposed a critical period in which attachment should occur, based on prior
work with geese
Konrad Lorenz
- proposed geese would form a bond with the first thing they saw moving after
hatching
- these geese were removed from their mothers before hatching
- they ‘imprinted’ or bonded with Konrad’s boots as this was the first thing they saw
move
- critical period for geese= 30days
, Developments of attachment (Schaffer, 2003) ::
Linked to object permanence?
- This is when children learn that an object does not cease to exist even though it is
not still there and they cant see it.
- Children were assessed for: (Lester et al., 1974)
o Separation anxiety (crying and reduced playing when left alone)
o Object permanence
- 9 and 12 month olds who passed the object permanence test also showed increased
signs of separation anxiety, those who failed the test showed reduced signs of
separation anxiety this suggests that potentially children start to display separation
anxiety when they cant see their mother but know their mother still exists and has a
life without them
Consequences of limited attachment
Critical period for attachments to form
Bowlby (1956): 6months – 4years is critical
- Infants who were separated from their mother displayed:
o Failure to smile at a face
o Failure to respond to a ‘coo’
o Poor appetite no matter how desirable the food
o Failure to gain weight, irrespective of how nourishing the food is
o Sleeping badly
o Lower IQ
Maternal deprivation
- Bowlby proposed prolonged separation from primary caregiver will cause personality
disorder or delinquency (could be paternal also)
- Compared 44 thieves to 44 emotionally disturbed people:
o Found that thieves were much more likely to have ‘affectionless characters’
o And were more likely to have suffered prolonged separation (>6months) in
the first year of life
