Lecture 5 – Parenting and Early Social Development

Attachment

a bond or tie between an individual and an attachment figure

Attachment –– Cupboard Love - Psychoanalysts (Freud)

Infants attach to caregivers who satisfy instinctual needs (e.g. oral gratification). 

Attachment –– Cupboard Love - Behaviorists

Behaviorists see infants as becoming attached to those who satisfy psychological needs 

Attachment –– Contact Comfort (Harlow and Zimmerman, 1959)

• Method: Infant rhesus monkeys raised with two “mothers” – one cloth, one wire (with milk). 

• Findings: Monkeys preferred the cloth mother — showing the importance of comfort over food. 

• Implications: Contact comfort is a basic need; deprivation caused abnormal development. 

• Ethics: Highly criticised for cruelty, yet influential in attachment theory. 

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory 

• Attachment: A deep emotional bond between infant and caregiver. 

• Definition: “A pattern of emotional and behavioural interaction developing over time” (Cassidy & Shaver, 1999). 

• Evolutionary function: Ensures infant survival. 

• Social releasers: Crying, cooing, smiling – innate behaviours that elicit caregiving. 

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory - Characteristics of Attachment

• Proximity maintenance: Desire to stay close to caregiver. 

• Safe haven: Seeking comfort when distressed. 

• Secure base: Confidence to explore when caregiver is near. 

• Separation of distress: Anxiety when caregiver leaves. 

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory –– Phases of Attachment Development (Preattachment stage)

Birth–6 wks

Infant signals (crying, smiling) attract caregivers. No preference for one person.

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory –– Phases of Attachment Development (Indiscriminate stage)

2–6 months

Recognises familiar people; no strong separation protest.

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory –– Phases of Attachment Development (Discriminate stage)

7–8 months

Shows clear preference for primary caregiver; separation anxiety begins.

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory –– Phases of Attachment Development (Reciprocal relationship stage)

18+ months

Understands caregiver’s return; less distress; uses communication to negotiate.

Internal Working Model (Bowlby, 1969)

• Mental representation of self, caregiver, and others. 

• Influences future relationships and attachment patterns. 

Mary Ainsworth - Strange Situation (1978) 

Experiment to assess attachment quality in infants (12-18 months)

Aim: Assess attachment quality in infants (12–18 months). 
Procedure: 8 stages involving separation, stranger, and reunion episodes. 

Strange situation - secure attachment (Type B)

demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver's return.

• Reaction to stranger: Child indifferent to the stranger when mother is present, but when alone will ignore stranger (stranger fear)

• Reaction to separation from mother: Upset & distressed when the mother leaves, will usually cry and cannot be consoled by stranger

• Reaction to reunion with mother: Happy when united at both reunion stages & is quickly calmed down when mother returns so can continue exploring

• associated parenting meaning: mothers responsive & sensitive to infants needs. Mothers interact positively with infants (smile, talk to, touch)

Strange situation - Anxious-avoidant/insecure avoidant attachment (Type A)

demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness.

• Reaction to stranger: Child plays with the stranger regardless of mother’s presence, & doesn’t check for mothers presence

• Reaction to separation from mother: Is not distressed by mother’s absence and can seek comfort from stranger

• Reaction to reunion with mother: Shows no interest in mother’s return (was not distressed by their departure either)

• associated parenting meaning: Mothers are actively rejecting. Often unresponsive to their infants’ signals, and unaffectionate and impatient with them.

Strange situation - Anxious-resistant /insecure ambivalent attachment (Type C)

Reaction to stranger: Child shows fear of stranger and avoids them whether or not mother is present

Reaction to separation from mother: Severe reaction to mother’s absence, clearly distressed

Reaction to reunion with mother: Child will want mother’s comfort but may push her away when approached

Associated parent meaning: mothers unpredictable in behavior. Sometimes responsive, others unavailable/unresponsive. Can misinterpret infants signals, respond inappropriately, difficulty in establishing routines

Strange situation - Insecure-disorganised (Main & Solomon, 1990)

Type of insecure attachment

• Insecure disorganised children do not have a consistent way of responding to stress

• Appear disoriented during SST task, sometimes become completely motionless (frozen) or move in odd ways in their mothers presence

• Associated parent meaning: Children who have been neglected or abused (Main & Solomon, 1990)

Maternal and early Deprivation - Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis (1951)

• Report commissioned by the WHO that found that Continuous maternal care is essential for normal development. 

Separation can cause “affectionless psychopathy” and developmental delays. 

• Based on 44 Juvenile Thieves study. 

Critiques 

• Rutter (1981): Distinction between privation (no attachment formed) and deprivation (attachment lost). 

• Tizard & Hodges (1978): Effects can be reversed with later quality care. 

• Context and environment also matter. 

Parenting styles 

the emotional climate in which parents raise their children

Parenting practices

specific behaviours that parents use to socialise their children (e.g disciplining)

Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (1967)

• conducted a study on more than 100 preschool-age children 

• key study in understanding role of parents in influencing the behavior and outcomes of their children

• using naturalistic observation, parental interviews & other research methods

Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (1967) - Authoritarian

Restrictive style in which parents demand obedience and respect

• Parent places firm limits and does not allow discussion

• Parent rigidly enforces rules but rarely explains them

• Children are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious

Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (1967) - Authoritative

encourages children to be independent while placing limits and controls on actions

• Extensive verbal giveand-take

• Parents expect mature, independent, ageappropriate behavior

• Children are often cheerful, self-controlled, and self-reliant

Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (1967) - Neglectful/withdrawn

Parent is very uninvolved in child’s life

• Children feel that other aspects of the parent’s life are more important than they are

• Children tend to be socially incompetent, immature, and have low selfesteem

Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (1967) - Indulgent/Permissive

parents are highly involved but place few demands or controls on the child

• Children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way

Parenting, Ethnicity & Race - Cultural Variations 

• Chao (2001): Authoritative style not linked to achievement in Chinese-American children. 

• Deater-Deckard et al. (1996): Physical discipline more common in African American families. 

• Steinberg et al. (1992): Authoritative not always predictive of academic success for African Americans. 

Children & Race: Early Social Understanding - Common myths

• Children too young for racial awareness. 

• Children “colour-blind”. 

• Racism only learned later. 

Children & Race: Early Social Understanding - Clark and Clark Doll Studies (1940s)

African American children preferred white dolls → evidence of internalised racism. 

Children & Race: Early Social Understanding - Van Ausdale & Feagin (2001)

Ethnography showed preschoolers use race in social interactions — race awareness starts early. 

Ethnic-Racial Socialisation (ERS) (Hughes et al., 2006; Iqbal, 2014) 

How parents teach children about race, culture, and discrimination.

• Hughes and her colleagues have highlighted the extremely multifaceted nature of ethnic racial socialisation and its need to be understood in terms of its content, its mode of transmission and the underlying beliefs and aims behind it.

Forms of Ethnic-Racial Socialisation (ERS) - Cultural Socialisation

• Parents highlight ethnic/racial history, traditions & cultural customs, pride in ethnicity, culture & race

Forms of Ethnic-Racial Socialisation (ERS) - Egalitarianism

• Parents stress importance of individual qualities as opposed to membership in a racial/ethnic group

Forms of Ethnic-Racial Socialisation (ERS) - Preparation for Bias

Parents make children aware of discrimination and how to deal with it

Forms of Ethnic-Racial Socialisation (ERS) - Promotion of Mistrust

Parents encourage distrust and carefulness in interracial communication

ERS - Child Outcomes 

• Strengthens ethnic identity and self-esteem (Rivas-Drake et al., 2009). 

• Builds resilience and coping mechanisms (Hughes, 2008; Wang, 2020). 

• Overemphasis on mistrust can have negative social effects (Neblett et al., 2006).