Edexcel Psychology for A Level Yr 2 Revision Guide

Chapter 4 Child psychology Attachment, deprivation and privation: Bowlby’s work on attachment Spec spotlight 7.1.1 Bowlby’s work on attachment. You can never be too careful in the workplace. Why attachments form The behaviour is naturally selected. Attachment behaviour evolved because it benefited both babies and parents: • Individuals are more likely to survive and pass on their genes if they are well-protected as babies – our distant baby ancestors would have been in danger if they did not stay close to a carer and attachment promotes proximity. • Parents become attached to their babies – this parental attachment behaviour evolved because parents who were not good carers were less reproductively successful (so their genes were not passed on). When and how attachments form The critical period is about six months. Bowlby claimed babies form attachments at about six months. Any baby not forming an attachment around this age may never be able to form attachments. Babies attach to carers who are most sensitive to their needs – more responsive, cooperative, accessible. Social releasers • Baby-like behaviours and features that elicit caregiving (‘make’ a carer want to look after the baby). • These behaviours (and our response) have been naturally selected because they lead to survival and reproductive success. Monotropy Forming one primary attachment. Babies form one (mono) special emotional bond to a primary attachment figure – often the biological mother but not always. It is the person who responds most sensitively to the baby’s needs, not the one who spends most time with them. Babies form secondary attachments that provide an emotional safety net – many babies prefer their mother if upset but are equally well-comforted by their father, grandparent or sibling if the mother is absent. Consequences of attachment Forming an internal working model of relationships. Monotropy is important because this special relationship forms the basis for a ‘template’ about what relationships are like – the internal working model , which has two consequences: • Short-term – gives the child insight into the carer’s behaviour and enables the child to influence it (so a true partnership can be formed). • Long-term – a template for future relationships, creating expectations about what good relationships are like. Continuity hypothesis – there is continuity from infancy to adulthood in terms of emotional type: • Individuals who are strongly attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competent. • Babies who are not strongly attached have more social and emotional difficulties in childhood and adulthood. John Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in London in the 1930s, treating disturbed children. His early work focused on the negative effects of deprivation (see page 130). His later work focused on the positive effects of attachment, as covered on this page. Apply it Concepts Felix and Ana have a new baby, Lucy. They are struck by how helpless their baby is and also amazed at the strength of their immediate attachment to her. At first, they both spend a lot of time interacting with her and trying to sense what she is feeling, but then Felix returns to work and he has very little energy at the end of the day for interactions. 1. (a) How do psychologists explain why Lucy forms the primary attachment with Ana? (1) (b) Explain what might have happened if Ana was an insensitive mother. (2) 2. Explain how the attachment will benefit Lucy later in life if it is maintained in infancy. (2) 3. Context essay: Discuss the formation of Lucy’s attachment. (8) 126 AO1 Description