Explanations of Attachment (OCR A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
3.3.3 The Critical Period and Internal Working Model
Critical period:
A specific time period during which babies can form an attachment to their main caregiver
According to Bowlby's monotropic theory, attachments are biologically pre-programmed into babies and their caregivers through the process of evolution
- Attachments in babies are driven by the need to survive
- Attachments in caregivers are driven by a need to protect babies from danger
Social releasers:
Innate behaviours that babies perform to attract the attention of their caregivers
- Following
- Crying
- Crawling
- Smiling (Caregivers are biologically pre-programmed to respond to social releasers)
According to Bowlby's monotropic theory, babies are biologically pre-programmed to perform social releasers because they help to attract the attention of caregivers to ensure they get what they need
Internal working model:
Early attachments with caregivers act as a schema used to form expectations and beliefs about relationships in the future.
Sensitive responsiveness: The responsiveness of the caregiver to the infant's needs, caregivers with high sensitive responsiveness respond quickly when the baby tries to interact with them. E.g., crying=milk
Continuity hypothesis:
Attachment styles will remain constant from infancy to adulthood.
Evaluation:
P: Bowlby's emphasis on the importance of attachments for a baby's emotional development leads to positive changes in real-world policy. E: For example, visiting hours for children in hospitals were lengthened so parents could spend more time with their children
E: Therefore, Bowlby's theory has practical application as it has led to useful reforms
P: Observations from Metapelites in Israel, support Bowlby's monotropic attachment theory as it shows that attachments are formed to the main caregiver
P: However, Shaffer and Emerson's study of stages of attachment doesn't support Bowlby's theory because they found that in the multiple attachment stage 87% to two or more caregivers. E: For example, making mothers feel guilted into staying at home and raising their children
E: This led to a reduction in the number of women in the workforce, which is bad for the economy and for the women who were made to feel guilty
P: Bowlby's theory had some unintended negative consequences in the real world
Support for Bowlby's theory:
Lorenz and the Goslings
Lorenz split eggs into two groups
- The control group was left to hatch normally in the presence of the mother goose, the way the geese are normally born.
- The experimental group was hatched in an incubator, away from their mother. Lorenz made sure to be the first thing these baby geese saw when they hatched.
Findings:
- Baby geese form attachments immediately after birth, suggesting that the attachment is biologically pre-programmed.
- This attachment isn't necessarily formed with the mother, baby geese form an attachment to the first thing they see when they're born. (imprinting)
Imprinting: An attachment made immediately to the first thing an infant sees (person or object), suggesting that their attachment was biologically pre-programmed.
Relevance to Bowlby:
Lorenz's study of geese provided support for three features of Bowlby's model:
- The fact that imprinting occurred immediately from birth supports the idea that attachments are biologically pre-programmed, rather than learned from experience
- The fact that imprinting was irreversible and only formed onto one animal or person, supports the idea that attachments are monotropic
- The fact that imprinting could happen during a narrow time window supports the idea of the critical period
Evaluation - Lorenz:
P: Some results weren't replicated in later studies E: For example, Guiton found that imprinting in baby chicks was reversible. Therefore, this provides counter-evidence for the idea that attachments are monotropic as Guitons findings did not completely replicate Lorenz's study
E: This is a weakness as it suggests the results aren't completely valid
P: It's likely that goslings and babies have different attachment mechanisms E: For instance, goslings and babies are at very different stages of development when they're born
E: Therefore, the results may not generalise to humans