Attachment

Attachment

1. Core Theory - Bowlby's Theory

   • Limitations
     • Bowlby believed in monotropy but critics say that you can form more than one attachment (not just your Mother).
     • Bowlby believed in critical period but critics say that it is too short and there is evidence of children forming attachments after this period.
     • Bowlby stated that effects of deprivation were irreversible but critics say that it can be reversed as this is supported by the story of the Czech twins.
   • Monotropy - attachment to one primary caregiver.
   • Critical period - first three years of a childs life where they have to make an attachment or there will be long term consequences.
   • Privation - when a child forms no attachment.
   • Deprivation - where a child has formed an attachment but is then broken.

2. Core Study - Hazan and Shaver

   • Limitations
     • The sampling method may have given an unrepresentative sample. Certain types of people may not have sent them back or responded to the questionnaire.
     • Questionnaires rely too much on respondents giving honest and accurate answers. Asking about peoples upbringing and intimate relationships is quite sensitive, so they may lie/exaggerate.
     • The questionnaire used closed (multi-choice) questions which may not have gone into enough depth. Intimate relationships are complex so it may not be valid to ask them by getting people to simply select an answer to a simple question.
   • Hazan and Shaver looked into childhood relationships and adulthood relationships.
   • Procedure: A questionnaire was used to collect information from an opportunity sample of a group of people between 14-82. The questionnaire was in the USA and was advertised as a 'love quiz' in a local newspaper.
   • Results
     • Most people reported as secure attachments in childhood. Adults with secure infant attachments had happier, friendly relationships. They tended to be supportive and accepting and were least likely to be divorced.
     • Adults with avoidant attachments were afraid of intimacy. They were also most prone to jealousy. This was the second most common.
     • Adults with ambivalent attachments were prone to obsession. They were most likely to be divorced.
     • It shows secure infant attachments tended to have longer relationships than ambivalent or avoidant.
     • 56% secure; 25% avoidant; 19% ambivalent.

3. Applications of Research

   • Care of children in hospitals
     • 50 years ago newborn babies were kept in separate wards for over a week, taken from their mothers immediately.
     • Attachments research said that mothers and babies should have time to bond.
     • Now the babies are given straight away to their mothers to begin bonding.
     • Hospitalised children parents were not given much access to their child. Bowlby showed otherwise and now have more frequent times to see them.
   • Care of children in nurseries
     • Consistent, continuous care by a trusted figure is the key to providing a secure and nurturing environments for very young children.
     • Research suggests that its absence can lead to behavioural difficulties in children as they grow older.
   • Care of children in families
     • With so many able to access the internet, parents can now obtain advice from a number of organisations at the touch of a button.

4. Alternative Theory - Behaviourist Theory

   • Nurture - you are born a blank slate and it is your experiences that determine who you become. Nothing is determined before birth.
   • Operant conditioning - learning through consequences (positives and/or negative).
   • It suggests that attachment is based on learning. Infants learn to attach through reinforcement (consequences). Both the parents and infants are involved in this. The infant will smile, coo, and cry to get attention which is rewarded for them, and the parent will feed and keep the child safe, which is also reinforcement.