Lecture notes
Class notes on attachment and parenting, Developmental Psychology
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- The University Of Birmingham (UBir)
Full class notes on attachment and parenting, week 8
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Introduction to Developmental PsychologyAttachment and Parenting
Bowlby’s Big Idea
Bowlby (1947) conducted retrospective research examining the life histories of 44
juvenile thieves.
o 61% of these thieves suffered early prolonged separation from their mothers
in childhood
o He did recognise that it could actually be either parent
Undertook extensive review of research for the World Health Organisation in 1951.
o Postulated that quality of parental care in early childhood was vital for
mental health
o Focused on maternal deprivation (ranging from mild to complete)
HYPOTHESIS - “It appears that there is a very strong case indeed for believing that
prolonged separation of a child from his mother (or mother substitute) during the
first five years of life stands foremost among the causes of delinquent character
development” (Bowlby, 1947, p.41)
Origins of Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Prior to the 1950s affectional bonds were viewed as ‘secondary’
o Relationships arose from the reduction of primary drives
People used to argue that the emotional bond was not needed and that children
only needed the primary drives such as food, water and warmth etc.
This was until Bowlby went against this idea and said that children also needed the
comfort/emotional bond
Bowlby (1969) credited two landmark studies for challenging this view:
o Lorenz’s (1935) work on imprinting
o Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) work on infant monkey behaviour
Challenged the view that relationships were formed from primary drive reduction
Forming relationships was a primary need in our development. It is fundamental.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
ATTACHMENT
o A strong affectional bond to a particular other
o A strong disposition to seek proximity and contact with another individual
o “A secure base from which a child…can make sorties into the outside world”
(Bowlby, 1988, p.12)
ATTACHMENT BEHAVIOURS
o Any form of behaviour that results in a person attaining or maintaining
proximity to some other clearly identified individual
Proximity seeking behaviours (innate): crying, smiling, vocalising,
reaching
Proximity maintaining behaviours (older): clinging, following calling
, Formation of Early Attachments (don’t need to know for exam)
Phase 1 (before 3 months): signals, responds to others with limited discrimination –
they have general skills
Phase 2 (3-6 months): signals, responds mainly to one or more discriminated figures;
begins ‘greeting’ on return and crying on departure
Phase 3 (9 months – 2 years): maintains proximity to discriminated figure; clinging,
crying, following
Phase 4 (2.5 years): goal corrected partnership; develops some insight into
attachment figure’s behaviour. Child formulates ‘internal working model’ of
relationship
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Bowlby’s key prediction
o Feelings of security encourage exploration, feelings of fear encourage
attachment behaviours
o Sustained parental contact and responsive parenting are necessary for
formation of attachments
o The quality of parent-child relationships influences later mental health
o The quality of parent-child relationships influences capacity to develop
relationships later in life.
Representational models (internal working models) of attachment
figures and of self-develop in childhood and persist
o The child develops a stronger attachment to those who are able to respond
correctly to their cries rather than those who respond more frequently. It is
the quality rather than quantity.
Measuring attachment
Ainsworth and Bell (1970): The strange situation test
o A standardised, laboratory-based method for observing exploratory and
attachment behaviours in 1 to 2 year old children.
o There are 8 episodes each lasting around 3 minutes each.
Strange Situation: initial findings
This supported Bowlby’s
key hypothesis.
They would explore when
the parent was there but
would explicitly show
more attachment
behaviours when the
parent was to leave the room
There needs to be a balance between attachment seeking behaviour and exploration
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