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2.1 The key features of the theories of attachment and the theorists and their theories
Conceptual framework of attachment theory
2.1 Outline the key features of the theories of attachment and the theorists and their theories
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Schore & Schore (2007) writes an individual’s progress ascends from the relationship between the brain, mind and body of both infant and caregiver retained within a culture and environment that supports or threatens it. An individual’s personal path of emotional development, including the growth in one’s unconscious, is to be inhibited by the environment of one’s culture and family (Schore & Schore, 2007). In Cary Stayner case, the writer explains Stayner at a young age, for seven years, dealt with the abduction and then lose of his brother. Schore & Schore (2007) explains the attachment theory hypothesizes that relationships in the earliest phases in life permanently outline one’s survival function. It can be assumed that the trauma that
Stayner endured caused him to lack empathy toward others and be socially dysfunctional. Farmer (2009) explains the brain’s receptiveness to environmental influences makes it open to positive stimuli. However, it also causes it to be vulnerable to negative stimuli such as neglect, abuse, and trauma. Siegal (2006) writes, once an individual’s brain is triggered in the moment, it combines its firing patterns into groups of activation that we call “state of mind”. An individual can assume that Stayner’s state of mind, when he committed the murders of the women, was legally insane. Siegal (2006) focuses on the attention in the present moment of one’s intentions and somatic states. As we know, genes are exceptionally important in the developmental process, we also know that experiences mold our neural connections as well (Siegal, 2006).
Environment has always played an important role on how children are raised. Throughout child developmental psychology, many different theorist’s views on how environment effects a child development differently, or if it plays any role at all in a child developing with a healthy psyche. In the film Babies (2010), we are introduced to two human babies living in distinctively different parts of the world and we are given a glimpse of their lives as they grow and develop. In the film, we are introduced to Ponijao from the rural area of Opuwo, Namibia, who lives with his mother and his siblings. In another area of the world, the urban city of San Francisco, U.S., we are introduced to Hattie, who lives with her mother and father.
David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the “Son of Sam”, was notorious for his crimes committed between 1976 and 1977 that ended the lives of six innocent victims and wounded several others in New York (“David Berkowitz Biography”, n.d.). At first, police did not make a connection between the murders because there was nothing unusual about them; all the victims were shot with a 40 caliber gun, not fairly unusual during this time or place especially since the killings were over an extended period of time. Police finally made the connection when Berkowitz began to live behind notes that were meant to tantalize authorities since they had yet to catch him (“David Berkowitz| Son of Sam Killer,” 2015). Often times, the psychological structure of a human
There are also cultural differences in the four attachment theories and this is possibly based on different countries where infants are either separated more or less from their caregivers than in the United States (Broderick, P., & Blewitt, P., 2015). However, it is good to know that maternal sensitivity and attachment security has been successfully replicated across cultures so it seems as though with infancy that there are not too many cultural differences when it comes to these relationships (Broderick, P., & Blewitt, P., 2015). What needs to be kept in mind about cultural differences is the differences in context across cultures and how different meanings and connects can be
Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981) Difference in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence from Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person. By one year six months only 13%of infants had one attachment. This study by Schafer and Emmerson (1964) concluded care giver can be male or female and mothering can be a shared responsibility. Social workers should therefore understand that parents are not totally responsible for the way the children develop. They did give them their genes and therefore do have some influence. Attachment theory also fails to consider the fact that the father and siblings, and other close relatives can also
For example, Magai & Passman (1997) discovered a strong relationship between secure attachments and emotional well-being of middle aged adults, which extends to individuals later in life. Understanding the role of attachment and its psychosocial impact during later life is an important area that needs further research. In regards to TMT, close relationships offer security, protection, and give meaning to life (Mikulincer, Florian, & Hirschberger, 2003).
In his original thesis, Bowlby (1969) never formalized an extension of his theory of attachment beyond childhood, but he clearly implied an extension should be sought. Perhaps his clearest statements regarding this extension involved his suggestions that people change to whom they are primarily attached as they age. He argued that in adolescents it was likely that peers played an increasingly important role in their attachment lives, and in adulthood, people would become primarily attached to a spouse or mate. Only in the last thirty years have scholars made a serious attempt to extend the ideas in attachment theory to adult relationships. One influential attempt came from Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) assertion that the attachment system is at least partially responsible for the adult romantic bond. Indeed multiple parallels have been drawn between the behavior in infant-caregiver interactions and adult romantic partner interactions. Zeifman and Hazan (1997) offer a fairly extensive account of the commonalities in adult romantic and infant-caregiver attachment. They note that cer...
Erik H. Erikson was a significant psychologist that greatly changed the field of child development. In the 1950’s, Erikson advanced a Freudian approach in development. He viewed that social development as a series of eight challenges that people have to overcome. Each challenge has an outcome that’s either favorable or unfavorable. The outcome drastically affects a person’s personality. For example, in a favorable outcome, the result can leave a positive feeling. With a positive outlook, it’s easier for a person to cope with challenges in life. An unfavorable outcome can leave a person at a disadvantaged for the future. During the first couple challenges, Erikson believed that the caregiver has a great impact on a child’s development (Romero).
John Bowlby’s attachment theory established that an infant’s earliest relationship with their primary caregiver or mother shaped their later development and characterized their human life, “from the cradle to the grave” (Bowlby, 1979, p. 129). The attachment style that an infant develops with their parent later reflects on their self-esteem, well-being and the romantic relationships that they form. Bowlby’s attachment theory had extensive research done by Mary Ainsworth, who studied the mother-infant interactions specifically regarding the theme of an infant’s exploration of their surrounding and the separation from their mother in an experiment called the strange situation. Ainsworth defined the four attachment styles: secure, insecure/resistant, insecure/avoidant and disorganized/disoriented, later leading to research studies done to observe this behavior and how it affects a child in their adolescence and adulthood.
John Bowlby was the first attachment theorist, he describes attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p.194), he believed that the earliest bonds that were formed between child and caregiver has a huge impact that continues throughout the infants life. Attachment is said to help keep the infant close to their mother, so it improves the child’s chance of survival.
While all societies acknowledge that children are different from adults, how they are different, changes, both generationally and across cultures. “The essence of childhood studies is that childhood is a social and cultural phenomenon” (James, 1998). Evident that there are in fact multiple childhoods, a unifying theme of childhood studies is that childhood is a social construction and aims to explore the major implications on future outcomes and adulthood. Recognizing childhood as a social construction guides exploration through themes to a better understanding of multiple childhoods, particularly differences influencing individual perception and experience of childhood. Childhood is socially constructed according to parenting style by parents’ ability to create a secure parent-child relationship, embrace love in attitudes towards the child through acceptance in a prepared environment, fostering healthy development which results in evidence based, major impacts on the experience of childhood as well as for the child’s resiliency and ability to overcome any adversity in the environment to reach positive future outcomes and succeed.
This essay will be discussing how the societies, cultures, and families influence children in their early childhood development. And links to three theorists’ perspectives of human development.
“Babies”. Is a documentary made by the Thomas Balmés. It offers a window on the lives of four infants in four completely different cultures. This is not a usual kind of documentary; there are no narration, no subtitles and actual dialogue was very minimal. The film explores childhood rituals, enculturation, socialization and parenthood. I will try to explore each of these themes and try to make the case that behaviors, values and fears are learned not something congenital. It has, in my opinion, comparative perspectives and different methods in rearing children in different societies. It achieves this by cutting the scenes in certain ways to show the differences between these different children. For example, in one part of the film, both Bayarjargal (the Mongolian child) and Mari (the Japanese child) were playing with their pet cats and then the two scenes were edited to a shot of Ponijo (the Namibian child) looking interested in flies. The four children developed in somewhat similar ways. However, there are differences in their behaviors due to the enculturation by seeing their parents or siblings who were doing what they thought to be the norms and the obvious landscape in which they are brought up. Two of the kids were born in rural areas (Namibia and Mongolia) and two were born in urban areas (the United States and Japan). The mothers of these infants were interviewed and chosen to be in the film
The French documentary Babies shows the first year of development of four different babies who live in four completely different environments. The film follows Ponijao, a little girl from Namibia, Bayar, a little boy from Mongolia, Mari, a girl from Tokyo, and Hattie, a girl from San Francisco. Even though the babies live in very dissimilar parts of the world, their physical, cognitive, and social development seem to all follow a set pattern. On the other hand, the babies learn to do some activities distinctive to their environment by watching their parents and siblings. Therefore, Babies provides evidence to support both the nature and nurture sides of the debate.
In order for an infant to live and cope within the cultural context, he/she must go through the process known as enculturation by the anthropologist and socialization by the sociologist (Grunland & Mayers, 2014). Therefore, enculturation can be described as the procedure through which people obtain skills, values, knowledge, and attitudes that help them in becoming functional societal members. The process of enculturation leads to competence in the values, language, and rituals of the specific culture. Enculturation can be regarded as a conscious and unconscious conditioning procedure through which an individual becomes competent in his
LeVine believes that “parental beliefs will function as a kind of schema both reflecting representations of reality and acting as a motivator of human actions”(Minde, Minde, Vegal, p.547). Japanese mothers anticipate that their children expand early affectional control and courtesy whilst U.S. mothers emphasize to children’s early proficiency being allowed by the other people (Minde, Minde, Vegal, 2006). “A potentially emic attachment instrument is the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI) developed by Zeanah and Benoit(1995)” as it needs the parent’s cognitions and physic experience of their connections with their adults”(Minde, Minde, Vegal, p.547). In (WMCI), the attachment grouping has been done with stranger