Harlow and Harlow - Attatchment

what is attatchment?

an emotional bond between infant and key caregivers (usually the mother)

early psychological approaches

1950-60s views

• psychodynamic (Freud) and behaviourist (Watson) views:

  • attachment driven by oral gratification and basic biological needs (hunger, thirst, pain)

critique

• overlooked interaction and emotional bonding beyond feeding

classic study: Harlows monkeys

background:

• harry harlow - uni of wisconsis

• challenged dominant views - believed early affection impacts future development

• used rhesus monkeys in controlled settings

key observations

• monkeys raised in isolation became:

  • socially impaired, fearful, comforted by blankets

  • couldn’t reintegrate with other monkeys

harlows experiements

A. surrogate mother study (Harlow and Harlow, 1958)

• two fake mothers:

  • wire w bottle

  • cloth without bottle

• result: monkeys preffered cloth monkey for comfort over wire monkey for food

B. social isolation (pit of despair)

• isolated monkeys for:

  • 0-2 years, 0-6 months, 0-80 days

• findings

  • all groups showed fear, crouching, social dysfunction

  • isolation >80 days = severe impairment

  • recovery possible if <80 days

only comforted by cloth, not wire, mother

C. maternal and peer deprivation

• 3 conditions:

  • 1: normal mother, no play

  • 2: cloth mother, play

  • 3: normal mother, play

• results:

  • best outcomes with normal mother and play

  • cloth mother and play = almost normal

  • normal mother and no play = low play, low sex drive

group psychotherapy:

• isolated monkeys improved social environments (eg zoo) but regressed upon return

• highlights: peer interaction crucial for recovery

controversies and contributions

contributions:

• evidence for:

  • importance of early interaction and love

  • critical periods for development

  • peer groups and mothering

controversies

• critics: comparing monkeys to humans may be flawed:

  • faster development in monkeys

  • differences in cognition, family dynamics, culture

attachment theory developments

sociability (Schaffer and Emerson, 1964)

• infants can form multiple attachments

• innate ability to seek human interaction

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory:

• attachment = adaptive, forms in sensitive period

• children are biologically pre-programmed to attach

four stages of attachment:

stage	age	features
pre-attachment	0-3 months	reacts to people similarly
indiscriminate	3-7 months	prefers humans
discriminate	7-9 months	separation anxiety begins
multiple	9+ months	forms several attachments

critique: too stage-based, ignores individual and cultural differences

Ainsworths Strange Situation (1978)

procedure:

1. infant and caregiver enter

2. stranger joins

3. caregiver leaves

4. caregiver returns

5. caregiver leaves again

6. stranger returns

7. caregiver returns

attachment types

type	%	characteristic
A: insecure-avoidant	20	indifferent, distressed alone, comforted by anyone
B: secure	70	upset when left alone, comforted on return, limited help from strangers
C: insecure-resistant	10	ambivalent, anxious, resists strangers

criticism: low ecological validity, cultural bias

Extreme Deprivation: Genie case study

• locked away until age 13

• had physical/social/language deficits

• some improvement with education, but social skills remained poor

maternal deprivation: effects

consequences:

• delinquency, low intelligence, aggression, depression

• affection-less psychopathy: lack of empathy

Golfarb (1947):

• 30 children: 15 fostered, 15 institutionalised

• institutionalised children:

  • worse cognitive scores

  • more fearful, restless, needy

• suggests early intervention (before 9 months) can help

maternal sensitivity

• not just physical separation - emotional sensitivity matters

• sensitive mothers recognise/respond appropriately = better attachment (ainsworth, 1978)

day care and development

social development:

• bowlby: seperation=bad

• clame-stewert et al: no difference in distress between high/low daycare users

• Shea (1981): daycare = more sociable, less aggressive

• cole and cole: some increased aggression

• conclusion: quality of daycare matters

Cognitive development:

• broberg et al (1997): nursery raised kids had better verbal/math skills

• positive effects stronger in working class children

• early daycare (<1year) = lower cognitive ability

is it good or bad?

• depends on: quality, timing, context

• cognitive theories would support stimulating environments