Does attachment theory provide a sound for advice on how to bring up children?

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                            Attachment theory and bring up children

CONTENTS       ..............................................PAGE                                                                                                                                              

Abstract         .......................................................01

                                                                                                                                     

Introduction.........................................................

Discussion                        ...................................

Conclusion                       ....................................06

References                                  .........................06

Does attachment theory provide a sound for advice on how to bring up children?

The present essay is intend to explore research studies of attachment theory concerning how to bring up children.

The shape of my discussion is as follows: firstly, a review of research and theories on the child’s early relationships and experience. Secondly, the implications of these key features for the child development theories are discussed. Finally, end-up with final remarks.

       Within child development one can distinguish a variety of approaches that provide different methods and explanations of understanding the growth of the relationship between a newborn child and the caregiver(s). There are four main approaches: behaviourist, nativist, , constructivists and social constructivists. The conceptual and methodological of each of these approaches are very different indeed. One way of comparing and contrasting these approaches is to look at their assumptions of first relationships and interactions on child development. Theoretical arguments have often centred on the issue of external versus internal influences on development. Behaviourists stress the role of environment and the child’s past history of reinforcements (i.e., perspective of stimulus-response relationship).  Nativist theories stress the critical importance of biological factors of development (i.e., inborn ‘preparedness). Both, constructivists (e.g., sensori-motor schemas) and social constructivists (i.e., socio-cultural scaffolding perspective) propose that development is a discontinuous rather than a continuous process. Although social constructivist agree with the general constructivist position of the role of both maturation and learning, but stress the social nature of development, emphasizing the influence of the cultural context on development.  No one theory is completely ‘right’ or completely ‘wrong’. Each theory has contributed widely to enhance our knowledge about child development. Together these theories give us a broad picture of early relationships.

 Perhaps the most pervasive view concerning long -term development has been that the child’s early relationships experience predetermine the individual’s future.  For  Freud, the first five years were regarded as critical; for J. B. Watson it was the experience of the first two years, which would make or mar the life path. For Bowlby, good mothering was almost useless if delayed beyond two and a half years;  the prolonged deprivation of maternal care might have grave and far-reaching effects on the child’s character and thus the whole of his or her future life.  Like Bowlby, Ainsworth put emphasis on the importance of good mothering as a secure base for the child. In Bowlby’s words, a child who has formed a secure attachment is likely to possess a representational model of attachment figure as being available, responsive, and helpful and a complementary model of himself as at least a potentially lovable and valuable person’ (Bowlby, 1980, p. 242).

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     The emotional development, that is the psychodynamic approach has become important in psychology as important as cognitive development, behaviourist and nativist constructivism and social constructivism theories. This was shown by the research of Melanie Klein. She developed Object-relations theory. From its first emotional relationships the infant constructs mental models of self-with-other that guide emotional development. If a caregiver is reliable then the model is of love and interpersonal trust. Should the caregiver be neglectful, the correspondingly untrusting models of self-with-other from foundations for subsequent relationships. Generally, Kleinian theory describes how babies may form representations of other people ...

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