Question

Describe the work of Bowlby, Harlow and Ainsworth.
What are some of the important findings from each of these people that we should know as parents or people who work with young children?

Discuss the importance of attachment for the development of the child. What type of relationship between infant and caretaker(s) is important to the development of secure attachment?

Answer 1

• Attachment Theory (Bowlby)-Attachment is described as a long lasting psychological connection with a meaningful person that causes pleasure while interacting and soothes in times of stress. The quality of attachment has a critical effect on development, and has been linked to various aspects of positive functioning, such as psychological well-being.
• Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive. Bowlby was very much influenced by ethological theory in general.
• Bowlby believed that attachment behaviors are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such as separation, insecurity, and fear.
• Bowlby also postulated that the fear of strangers represents an important survival mechanism, built in by nature. Babies are born with the tendency to display certain innate behaviors (called social releasers) which help ensure proximity and contact with the mother or attachment figure (e.g., crying, smiling, crawling, etc.) – these are species-specific behaviors.
• Bowlby suggested that a child would initially form only one attachment and that the attachment figure acted as a secure base for exploring the world. The attachment relationship acts as a prototype for all future social relationships so disrupting it can have severe consequences.
• 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.
• Bowlby used the term maternal deprivation to refer to the separation or loss of the mother as well as failure to develop an attachment.
• 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.
• Harlow' attachment theory-Harlow experimented with rhesus monkeys, an Asian species that’s assimilates to living with humans easily. The purpose of the study was to examine their behavior in the laboratory to confirm Bowlby’s attachment theory. He separated the baby monkeys from their mothers to see how they reacted.
  
• He put two items in the cages with the baby monkeys: a full bottle to feed them and a stuffed animal or doll that looked like an adult monkey. The doll had no type of nourishment to offer the baby.
• Harlow wanted to answer this question not only to confirm Bowlby’s theory of attachment, but to discover the existence of unconditional love. The results showed that the baby monkeys preferred the doll, even though it didn’t give them any food.
• When the babies were scared, they clung tightly to the doll, because it gave them a sense of security.
• This allowed Harlow to verify how important the relationship with and attachment to the mother is when babies are very young. Even though they didn’t get any food, they chose the doll because it had adopted the role of mother for them. It was the creature they wanted to spend their time with. The other option was mere food that brought them no warmth or affection.
• Ainsworth's theory of attachment-In her 1970s research, psychologist Mary Ainsworth expanded greatly upon Bowlby's original work. Her groundbreaking "Strange Situation" study revealed the profound effects of attachment on behavior. In the study, researchers observed children between the ages of 12 and 18 months as they responded to a situation in which they were briefly left alone and then reunited with their mothers.
• Based on the responses the researchers observed, Ainsworth described three major styles of attachment: secure attachment, ambivalent-insecure attachment, and avoidant-insecure attachment. Later, researchers Main and Solomon (1986) added a fourth attachment style called disorganized-insecure attachment based on their own research.
• Securing attached children feel confident that the attachment figure will be available to meet their needs. They use the attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment and seek the attachment figure in times of distress.Securely attached infants are easily soothed by the attachment figure when upset. Infants develop a secure attachment when the caregiver is sensitive to their signals, and responds appropriately to their needs.
  
• Insecure avoidant children do not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment.They are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally .They do not seek contact with the attachment figure when distressed. Such children are likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive and rejecting of their needs.
• The third attachment style identified by Ainsworth (1970) was insecure ambivalent (also called insecure resistant).Here children adopt an ambivalent behavioral style towards the attachment figure. The child will commonly exhibit clingy and dependent behavior, but will be rejecting of the attachment figure when they engage in interaction.
• The child fails to develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure. Accordingly, they exhibit difficulty moving away from the attachment figure to explore novel surroundings.
• When distressed they are difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure. This behavior results from an inconsistent level of response to their needs from the primary caregiver.
• Disorganised attachment refers to momentary behaviours displayed by children if they find themselves in anxiety-provoking situations into which an abusive caregiver enters. Because they don’t know what to do, they experience what American academic Mary Main called “fear without solution” and end up behaving in bizarre ways, albeit only for a few seconds.
• So,all these theories emphasize upon the importance of attachment to their caregivers and how different attachment styles have an effect on the child's personality as an adult.
• Due to time limit,remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answerd,thankyou for your cooperation