Why do babies develop attachments? Lesson Three

Starter Key terms test – you want to earn yourselves a ‘Social Sciences Super Speller’ Sticker!

Bowlby’s Evolutionary Theory Attachment is vital for survival Humans have evolved to the point that infants have an innate tendency to form attachments - in other words it is natural and biological Adults are also innately programmed to respond to and bond with, their infants This attachment has a long term benefit in the sense that it forms the basis for all our relationships

Innate programming All psychological and physiological characteristics are naturally selected. Through natural selection, to ensure that the baby survives to reach maturity and reproduce Babies produce instincts such as crying which means that the caregiver responds to them Mothers have natural instincts to care for their children and ensure their surival All about ensuring the survival of the genes

Critical period Attachment between infant and caregiver should not be disrupted or broken at any point during the first three years of life If an attachment is not made within the first three years then the child will grow up to have ‘affectionless psychopathy’

Monotropy A single attachment to the person who is the most important to them (usually the mother) One relationship is more important than any of the others and this exists throughout the life of the child This was a very controversial part of his theory

Internal working model The first relationship between the infant and the primary caregiver provided the child with an internal working model or template for their future relationships. This model influences relationships later on in life Looked at Harlow’s work and decided that the mother is like a ‘safe base’ providing comfort and security

It’s like a jungle out there..... All of the attachment behaviours serve to promote the survival of the infant This is an evolutionary process

Plenary Lorenz’s study as support for Bowlby Studied the behaviour of geese who ‘imprint’ on the first object they see Divided a group of geese eggs into two, half left with the mother and the other half in an incubator When those in the incubator hatched, the first living thing they saw was Lorenz and they followed him around Placed back with their mother, the ones in the incubators still continued to follow Lorenz

Applications of study to Bowlby A young animal that follows its mother is more likely to be safe from predators, be fed and learn how to find their food More likely to survive and reproduce Shows the importance of the critical period – the geese formed an attachment to the primary caregiver very quickly (even if it was Lorenz!)