An introduction to
Child Psychology
Unit 3
What is attachment?
Attachment is strong affectional ties
that bind a person to an intimate comparison- Bowlby, 1969
Babies
are born completely helpless- they can’t defend themselves and probably
don’t even know they’re in danger if they were. THIS IS BECAUSE OF ATTACHMENT
that they get people to look after them
Privation
NEVER HAD AN ATTACHMENT. Lack of something, emotional
privation is the lack of attachment or love in a child who has been unable to
form an attachment. Physical privation refers to the lack of basic physical
needs such as food or shelter.
Deprivation
HAVING AN ATTACHMENT THEN HAVING IT
BROKEN, e.g. death
of a mother.
Protest = Lose
ability to form a strong attachment
Despair = Damage
Internal Working Model
Detachment = Social
issues/development
Signs of attachment
·
Close
proximity- cuddling, kissing (link to Macoby)
·
Worrying
about them (them meaning the other person)
·
Happy
when you’re with them
·
Withdrawal
symptoms when you’re without them
Macoby (1980) states 4 signs of attachment
1. Seeking proximity
2. Distress on separation
3. Joy on reunion
4. General orientation towards each
other
Evolution
Evolution suggests that any
characteristic that helps us to survive or reproduce will be passed onto the
next generation and will spread through the population. For example, giraffe’s
necks are really long as their diet is tree leaves, depending on this.
Evolutionary theory- Ethologists
Ethologists are Biologists who study
animal behaviour in the natural environment. One important ethologist is Konrad
Lorenz. He was interested in how young animals attach to their mothers, and how
this gave them an increased chance of survival.
Konrad Lorenz (1935)
1. Lorenz separated two sets of geese eggs. ½ was given
to the goose the raise and the other
½ were taken away from its mother.
2. Once all the eggs hatched he put
them together into a single large group and then watched as they sorted themselves into two, each following their own
‘mother’. He called this stage Imprinting.
Later studies showed imprinting takes
place between 13-16 hours after hatching. If no imprinting has occurred within
32 hours, it never will. This is known as the Critical Period.
WE HOWEVER ARE NOT A
PRECOCIAL SPECIES, WE ARE DIFFERENT!!!
BOND= MOTHER TO
BABY ATTACHMENT= TWO WAY
Generally babies take around 6-7 months before they show their first real signs of attachment
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