Attachment can be described using two theories, one being Bowlby’s attachment theory which is based on an evolutionary perspective. The theory suggests that evolution has produced a behaviour that is essential to survival. An infant that keeps close to their mother is more likely to survive. The traits that lead to that attachment will be naturally selected. Bowlby has the idea that attachment has evolved and it is innate as it increases the likelihood of survival and reproduction, he suggests that children are already born with this innate drive and that they were born to perform these behaviours and born to attain attachment.
We are all born with an inherited need to form attachments and this is to help us survive. He also said that attachments were irreversible- once they were made they could not be broken. * Babies are biologically programmed to form attachments. By doing cute things lie smiling, they form attachments with adults who look after them when they are most vulnerable, helping the baby survive. This is called social releasers.
"Baby talk" may also come into affect. COMMUNICATION AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT For newborn babies crying is a way of communication this communication can be for a number of reasons such as, nappy change, hungry, tummy upset or tired. Also another way to communicate is by body language such as tensing up when they're uncomfortable or yawning when tired. Intellectual development will come from yourself with cooperation with your baby such as smiling to them, eye contact and talking or even singing to them. This will help them feel protected and content with the positive attention.
Outline and evaluate Bowlby’s theory of attachment (12 marks) Bowlby believed that the strong, emotional, reciprocal bong between an infant and its caregiver which is formed over time is part of an evolutionary behaviour and that human babies have an innate tendency to establish this bond with their caregiver which aids survival and reproductive potential. In his theory, Bowlby applied the principles of imprinting to human attachment but instead used the term attachment as this process in humans is much more complex and more of a social and emotional bond than imprinting. One of Bowlby’s main evolutionary ideas amongst his theory’s is that babies possess innate characteristics that encourage the caregiver to look after them which he called social releasing factors. This included things such as big eyes, little noses, rosebud mouths, crying and smiling which encourage the caregiver to look after them and according to Bowlby, mothers especially possess instincts designed to protect their baby from harm and to nurture them to ensure survival to reach maturity. Another important evolutionary concept in Bowlby’s theory was the idea of monotropy where infants form an attachment to one primary caregiver which is usually the biological mother.
Describe and evaluate Bowlby’s theory of attachment Bowlby’s theory of attachment argues that attachment is adaptive and innate. He believes that infants are all born with an innate need to form attachments because they enable survival. He states that attachment promotes survival in 3 ways; Proximity to an adult provides safety (for example, protection against predators, food and warmth etc. ), it provides a secure base for exploration (and fosters cognitive development and independence) and the internal working model (a schema that gives the infant a basis for future relationships). He also states that infants will form one bond that is more important than all others (Montrophy) and this is linked to the continuity hypothesis.
Face Recognition in Infants: The newborn infants enter the world visually naïve but are possessed with a number of tools and means with which to make sense of the world around them. Developmental psychologists are more concerned about the early stages at which a child begins to differentiate between faces and innate objects. Moreover, faces provide infants with information about the identity, gender, age, and emotional expression of their caregivers who they are likely to spend more time with. Likewise, being able to recognize their caregivers is also crucial for the development of attachment styles they form at an early age which eventually leaves a long-lasting effect on their future relationships. Several experiments have reported that newborn infants, just a few hours from birth, are able to discriminate between individual faces, and will evidently show preference for the mother’s face when she is shown paired with a female stranger’s face.
As the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child development. Related terms include developmental psychology, referring to development throughout the lifespan, and paediatrics, the branch of medicine relating to the care of children. Developmental change may occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two. It may also occur as a result of human nature and our ability to learn from our environment.
For example in a child that’s aged between 2-3yrs will (in their social development): • Continue to enjoy the company of others • Wants to please and seek approval from adults • Is still very egocentric and very protective of own possessions; unable to share with other children unless requested by an adult and it wants to please the adult. • May find group experiences difficult due to egocentric behaviour • Uses language more effectively to communicate with others. All children will follow this sequence of development, however they may not all go through the sequence over the same timescale as another. This is where we look at the rate of development. Rate is defined as... “The speed with which something moves or happens.” So as already stated development happens in the same order amongst all children but it may not happen at the same rate.
A child’s development will usually follow the same pattern, but the age at which they will reach ‘milestones’ in their development will vary depending on a variety of personal and external factors. All children will develop at different rates, but the sequence of development will be roughly the same. A child has to master a basic skill before they can move on to the next stage, such as rolling over leading to crawling, then to pulling themselves up onto furniture before they can master walking. Teaching practices aimed at child development should seek to simultaneously address each of the developmental areas. To develop to their fullest potential, children need a huge amount of support and guidance from others in their lives; failure to meet all of the needs of a baby or child can have serious consequences on his or her development.
Behavioural and Evolutionary theories of attachment in Psychology are two opposing ideas about the ways in which a child attaches to it's primary caregiver. In this essay I will demonstrate the differences between the two theories and use case studies to provide evidence for both the Behavioural and Evolutionary theories. The Evolutionary theory supports the Nature side of the argument, which basically suggests that attachment is something which is biologically pre-programmed into a child at birth. This means that an infant will emit something which is known as a 'social releaser' (e.g crying, smiling, laughing) because they know an adult will respond. However, the Behavioural theory is part of the Nurture debate, which suggests that attachment is a set of learned behaviours from the environment and is not something that a child is born with.