Socialisation processes observed within families ATTACHMENT FEATURES OF

Socialisation processes observed within families ATTACHMENT FEATURES OF DIFFERENT PARENTING STYLES

Defining Socialisation the process of acquiring beliefs, values and behaviours that are thought to be important and appropriate to function effectively as a member of society. Ongoing process Factors affecting socialisation “agents of socialisation” i. e. family, school, media, religion, clubs.

From your own experiences and observations of others, note what you consider to be the major agents of socialization at different stages of the lifespan Stage of lifespan Pre-school Primary school High school adulthood Old age Major agents of socialisaiton

Attachment is defined as an emotional bond with a specific person that is enduring across time and space. Usually in Psychology, attachment is discussed in regard to the relationship between infants and specific caregivers. Attachment is very important development in the social and emotional life of the infant. Attachment usually forms within the first six months of the infant’s life. Attachment can be observed in the second six months in the form of wariness of strangers, fear of separation from caregiver, etc.

Theories of Attachment Harlow Bowlby Ainsworth

Harlow - Experiment one work focused on the attachment of resus monkeys Experiment one – investigated the effect of infant monkeys raised in isolation. He noted that these monkeys engaged in strange behaviour – clutching own bodies and rocking compulsively. When put with other monkeys they were unable to socialise/were aggressive/self mutilated. Privation = permanently damaging.

Harlow – Experiment two Aim investigated if it was food or contact comfort is more important in the formation of infant-mother attachment. Method He got eight newborn monkeys which were immediately separated from their mothers at birth. He put half the monkeys in individual cages where a cloth surrogate mother provided food and a wire surrogate mother did not. The other half of the monkeys were placed in individual cages where a wire surrogate mother provided food and a cloth surrogate mother did not.

Harlow – Experiment Two. Results He found that monkey’s in both groups spent more time with the cloth surrogate, regardless of which provided food. When frightening the monkeys both groups took refuge with cloth mother. The monkeys in both groups compared to monkeys who had normal mothers were still more timid, limited social skills, difficulties mating/parenting. Conclusion Contact comfort is more important than feeding in the formation of infant mother attachment in rhesus monkeys. Generalization ?

Harlow experiment https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Or. NBEhzjg 8 I

Bowlby Key concepts 1. children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive 2. There is a sensitive period when infants become imprinted by early contact with mother – the “critical period”. 3. he discussed monotropy –close bond with 1 figure. This bond is not just 1 sided. Reciprocal bond is needed between mother and child. 4. if bond broken in critical period it can have detrimental effect later on. He termed this maternal deprivation

Bowlby – maternal deprivation A child should receive the continuous care of this single most important attachment figure for approximately the first two years of life. A relationship that is discontinuous becomes unstable and less predictable. Continual disruption of the attachment between infant and primary caregiver (i. e. mother) could result in long term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant. The development of this continuous relationship must occur during the critical period.

Bowlby – long term consequences of maternal deprivation Delinquency Reduced intelligence Increased aggression Depression Affectionless psychopathy (inability show affection or concern for others)

Bowlby – internal working model The child’s attachment relationship with their primary caregiver leads to the development of an internal working model Internal working model = mental representations for understanding the world, self and others The 3 features of the internal working model: 1. a model of others as being trustworthy, 2. a model of the self as valuable and 3. a model of the self as effective when interacting with others These 3 elements of the model guide future social and emotional behaviour (i. e. form prototype for future relationships)

Criticisms Multiple attachments – not just to the mother! Other studies show that by 18 months only 13% of children were attached only to one person, and show indicators of attachment (i. e. distress when attached person leaves) towards fathers, siblings, peers and even inanimate objects. (Rutter, 1972) Not distinguishing between deprivation and privation (Rutter, 1972) Other theorists stress the quality of attachment is most important, rather than deprivation in critical period

Ainsworth Expanded on Bowlby’s work. Explored the quality of attachment between infants and their caregivers. Used experimental methods to gain findings instead of observations. Experiment known as the “strange situation”.

Ainsworth

Ainsworth She used the results of this study to describe infants attachment behaviour in three categories. Type A, B and C. see table on next page Type A – insecure avoidant attachment Type B – secure attachment Type C – insecure resistant attachment.

Type A style attachment – Ainsworth

Type B style attachment – Ainsworth

Type C style attachment – Ainsworth

Ainsworth & Culture. There have been cultural differences found in this “strange situation” experiment. When conducted in japan, higher percentage of infants were type C, but in UK, very low percentage were found to be type C. In Japan, caregivers are rarely apart from the children, therefore children are initially unwilling to leave the caregiver at all to explore and become in the Strange Situation task (Durkin, 1995)