Why do you think children and their caregivers form close, mutually affectionate relationships?

Aims and objectives

After studying this chapter you should be able to: . summarise some of the most influential findings of psychological research on attachment in humans and other species . describe Harlow’s maternal deprivation experiments with rhesus macaques and explain their importance with respect to attachment theory . outline some of the ethical implications and the scientific value of using non-human animals in psychological research . describe Mary Ainsworth’s observational research on children’s attachment . recognise that behaviour based upon a biologically inherited system is not necessarily rigid and determined. 192 1 Introduction 1 Introduction The 1989 United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child declared that: ‘[T]he child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding’ (UN, 1989). The 1959 United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child also stated that, ‘a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother’ (UN, 1959). Is love a basic human right? Can we really dictate love? Is mother-love especially important for the healthy development of young children? What is this thing called ‘love’ anyway? It is certainly an extremely powerful emotion. It is an emotion that draws and bonds us to another person. We yearn for the presence of a loved one, they preoccupy our thoughts and we turn to them in times of joy and sorrow. Yet, why do we love? Is it for the benefit of the other person or is it driven by selfish motivations? Where does love come from? Do we learn it or are we born with the capacity to love? In this chapter, I will explore the nature of love, in particular the love between a child and its mother. The bond that develops between the child and the mother, or other primary caregiver, has been called attachment. I will consider the major scientific theories of attachment and some of the most influential studies that have been conducted on the subject. Attachment A relatively long-term, emotionally important relationship in which one individual seeks proximity to and derives security and comfort from the presence of another. 1.1 What is attachment and where does it come from? It seems obvious that all children and their parents should love each other. They should both derive pleasure and satisfaction from cuddling and playing together. For a parent, the sometimes overwhelming feelings of protective love may either come almost instantaneously with the birth of their child or grow over the first few months of the child’s life. Most human infants begin to show a preference for one person over and above everyone else at approximately 7 months of age. If they are separated from that special person (who is usually, but not always, their mother) they tend to become very distressed and will do all they can to be reunited with them. Soon after establishing this primary attachment, children begin to extend their affections to an inner circle of special 193 Chapter 5 Determined to love? people, which usually includes other family members, close family friends, nannies or child minders. This chapter focuses mostly upon the close emotional bond that develops between mothers and infants. This is because much research has focused upon mother–infant attachment. Yet you should bear in mind that there are lots of different types of attachment: father to child, grandparent to grandchild, romantic relationships, the dog–human bond, and even the strong emotional ties that some children form in response to certain objects such as soft toys or cloths have all been discussed in terms of attachment. Thus, even though I will focus primarily on the mother–infant bond, attachment refers to any relatively long-term emotionally important relationship in which one individual seeks proximity to and derives security and comfort from the presence of another. John Bowlby was the first scientist to use the term ‘attachment’ to refer to the mutually affectionate bond that develops between a child and his or her caregivers. In the 1950s Bowlby proposed a theory to explain how and why attachment relationships develop. In order to appreciate how radical Bowlby’s ideas were when he first proposed them, it is necessary to consider the alternative theories that existed at the time. Activity 5.1 Without reading ahead, spend a couple of minutes considering the following questions: . Why do you think children and their caregivers form close, mutually affectionate relationships? . Why does a mother or father love their child? . Why does the child form such strong feelings for his or her parents?