bolbys theory

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AS and A Level Psychology

This proved a theory for young babies detached from their mothers or predominant carer, that detachment at an early stage of life can reoccur as a much more serious problem or even mental retardation later in that child's life, again reinforcing the importance of secure attachment to a familiar carer or specifically the mother (according to Bowlby).

Protest => despair => detachment

In the initial stages the child protests openly, if their mother fails to return they will eventually move into a phase of despair characterised by hopelessness and depression. If the mother still fails to return they will eventually display detachment, here they may appear happier and be wiling to accept care and attention from others but they have lost the focus of any deep attachments.

Bowlby went on to put forward the more controversial maternal deprivation

hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, breaking the maternal bond with the child during the early years of its life is likely to have serious effects on its intellectual,social, and emotional development. Bowlby also claimed that many of these negative effects of maternal deprivation

are permanent and irreversible.

Harlow and Harlows experiments showed that :

  • Monkeys preferred the warmth and ‘feeling’ of a mother
  • The cloth mother provided a sense of security for the monkeys whereas the wire mother did not.
  • When the cloth mother was near they explored more
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It established that food was not necessarily a predominant need for the baby, but it sought a mother's warmth more than food. Thus reinforcing the idea of maternal love being the most important aspect in a baby's life.

The cloth mother was not an adequate alternative to a real mother, the monkeys rasied without contact with other monkeys showed abnormal behaviour in social behaviuors. They neglected and abused their own infants which shows that a bond with the mother is necessary for further social development.

Harlow and Harlow’s experiments provide convincing evidence to support Bowlby’s maternal ...

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bolbys theory
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    1061
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  • Level
    AS and A Level
  • Subject
    Psychology
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