ATTACHMENT INTODUCTION
ATTACHMENT
Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony. Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer. Multiple attachments and the role of the father.
Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow.
Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby’s monotropic theory. The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model.
Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant. Cultural variations in attachment, including van Ijzendoorn.
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation. Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation.
The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model
WHAT IS ATTACHMENT?:
Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory concerning human relationships. The most important tenet is that young children must develop relationships with at least one primary caregiver for normal social and emotional development.
EVOLUTION AND LOVE AND ATTACHMENT
This question of why humans are equipped to fall in love has been explained by evolutionary theory. In a nutshell, humans fall in love because they are meant to reproduce. Species can only continue through reproduction, and the continuation of the species is paramount in evolution. Since mating is the ultimate goal, feelings of romantic love are merely a vehicle toward this goal. If humans don’t fall in romantic love (arguably lust) and bond with their partner then they are unlikely to form a relationship with them and have sex and ultimately reproduce..
Species that fall in romantic love or pair-bond for extended periods need the male of their species to help in child-rearing. Female humans, for example, would have been ill-equipped to protect themselves from predators and other tribes whilst heavily pregnant or breastfeeding an infant in their ancestral environments. Furthermore, they would have found great difficulties hunting, gathering, obtaining food, etc. Thus, romantic love is an evolutionary process with survival and reproductive value it extends the life of offspring.. Specifically, humans must continue to feel love even after being reproduced.
Female cats and dogs do not fall in love with the fathers of their offspring because they are completely self-sufficient single parents and able to rear their offspring without help from the male. As a result, the relationship between any two cat parents is fleeting casual sex; with no emotion or fond memories afterward.
We can take this idea further as even love and attachment to babies and children from parents have evolutionary roots; e.g., species only tend to attach and love their offspring if the infant is helpless at birth and would die without parental assistance. Fish don’t attach to their offspring because their offspring are completely self-sufficient. Human infants are amongst the most helpless at birth and require massive intensive care for many years.
Vasopressin and oxytocin help humans and about three percent of other mammal species experience romantic love. These two chemicals are associated with our ability to form memories of others and help us recognise other people. They're also released, along with dopamine, during sex and lactation.
This combination of dopamine (which induces feelings of pleasure), oxytocin (which is associated with feelings of attachment), and vasopressin (which also promotes attachment and also allows social recognition) lead to a learned behaviour where we become addicted to our mate. Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Vasopressin may also play a role in familial love between a parent and child or among siblings. The chemical oxytocin, for example, plays a role in parental bonding. It's released in mothers during childbirth and plays a role in the production and release of breast milk.
PRECOCIAL SPECIES
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from birth or hatching. Precocial species are normally nidifugous, leaving the nest shortly after birth or hatching. These categories form a continuum without distinct gaps between them. Precocial animals' brains are fully developed at birth relative to their body size, limiting their knowledge largely to their instincts but providing them immediate access to their bodies. However, their brains do not develop as adults, and they memorise little from birth to death.
ALTRICIAL SPECIES
Altricial animals' brains are comparatively undeveloped at birth, thus needing care and protection. However, their brains begin developing at birth and do so independently, adapting to individual circumstances. Hence, as adults, altricial animals attain more versatile brains than their precocial counterparts, capable of strategic thought based on experience. Thus, altricial species, ultimately, possess greater potential for skill and adaptability, notably a factor in human developmental success.
COMPLEX ANIMALS VERSUS NON-COMPLEX ANIMALS
Humans are the most complex living system. And the more complex the system, the longer it takes to build. Life took billions of years to evolve from single-celled microorganisms to large, warm-blooded mammals. As a result, parental care is generally the longest and most complex in mammals because it involves teaching the young important skills they will need when they are older and no longer cared for by their parents. Mammal care always involves the mother feeding milk to the young.
What species has the longest childhood?: Although in captivity, Orangutans have been known to be able to produce offspring as early as six years of age. The orangutan has one of the longest childhood dependences on the mother of any animal in the world because there is so much for a young orangutan to learn to survive. The babies are nursed until they are about six years of age. Like humans, female orangutans form a strong, long-lasting bond with their offspring. According to Orangutan Foundation International, infant orangutans completely depend on their mothers for the first two years of life. They will cling to their mother's stomach, side, and back as she moves through the jungle. Most orang mums let the older offspring stick around for up to three years after the infant is born, while some chase the juveniles off after six months.
What animals stay with their mothers for life? Below, we've picked out animals with close and long-lasting bonds with their loving mothers.
African Elephants. With the longest gestation period of any mammal (22 months), elephant mums nurse their calves for four to six years. Even after they are weaned, elephants stay with their mothers for about 16 years. Female elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal (22 months), and after a very long pregnancy, mums have no time to rest. Baby elephants are not only born nearly blind but they rely on their trunks and mothers for everything, their mums will usually nurse them for four to six years. Calves are born blind and are dependent on their mothers for care. When a new calf is born, the herd gathers around, caressing them with their trunk.
African Lions.
Alligators.
Chimpanzees.
Dolphins.
Grey kangaroo.
Giraffes.
Gazelles.
Parental Care and Animal Kingdoms
Parental care differs amongst many species in the animal kingdom
NO PARENTAL CARE
Parental care is not frequently observed in invertebrate species. Adults lay their eggs before leaving them to hatch and develop into larvae, pupa, and adults. Many invertebrates and some vertebrates provide no parental care at all. For example, adults in most fish species release gametes (eggs or sperm) into the water and have nothing to do with any resulting offspring. However, some fish species provide parental care, a few in unique ways. For example, tilapia practice a behaviour called oral brooding. The mother carries the eggs in her mouth until they hatch. This behaviour protects the eggs and allows them to receive more nutrients, increasing their chances of survival.
Reptiles provide less parental care than other tetrapods. When it does occur, it is usually female-only or biparental care. Many species within this group produce self-sufficient offspring and can regulate their body temperatures and forage immediately after birth, eliminating the need for parental care. Maternal care exists in crocodilians, where the mother assists hatchlings by transporting them in her mouth from the nest to the water. She may stay with the young for up to several months.
BIPARENTAL CARE: Biparental care occurs when male and female parents cooperate to care for their joint offspring. Although biparental care is relatively rare, it has evolved repeatedly in birds, mammals, fishes, amphibians and insects.
Who provides parental care tends to vary with the type of mating system. In species with a monogamous mating system, especially one in which the parents stay together for a long time, both parents are likely to cooperate in caring for their offspring. If sexual behaviour from females is polygamous, then paternity is uncertain. Polygynous mating systems are associated with little or no male contribution. Males rarely provide care for offspring in promiscuous mating systems since there is high paternity uncertainty. Historically, this would have resulted in high mortality rates for babies and mothers. When parental care does occur in a species, it is most often the mother that provides it. However, in some species, both parents may be involved.
Birds are distinctive in the way they care for their young. 90% of bird species display biparental care, including 9% of species with alloparental care or helpers at the nest. Female-only care is prevalent in the remainder of bird species, and male-only care is rare.
SINGLE-PARENT CARE: MALES
Care of offspring by males may evolve when natural selection favouring parental care is stronger than sexual selection against paternal care. In approximately 1% of bird species, males exclusively care after laying eggs. Male-only care is prevalent in various organisms, including fish and amphibians.
There is some male-only care for amphibians. However, biparental care is uncommon.
Male giant water bugs. The females lay the eggs on the male’s back, then she bugs off, leaving the male to ensure the kids hatch.
SINGLE-PARENT CARE: FEMALES
Mammals Females are in all species. 95% female care only. No cases of male-only care. Almost all of the Mums in the animal world are single Mums. With rare exceptions, the male does not stick around to help rear the young. Birds are one exception, and Lions are another, as are wolves. For the rest, Dad is mainly a sperm donor. This is especially true with fish, reptiles, and amphibians, where the young must raise themselves. As far as mammals are concerned, with the exceptions above Daddy does his thing with Mum and it is pretty much goodbye. With cattle and horses while it is true that Dad is there leading the herd if Mum isn’t in heat he has little or no interest in her.
BAD PARENTING
The harp seals usually leave the young ones alone alone, and the mother seal searches for a new mate.
The rabbit's mother has a strong smell that attracts predators, so she stays away from them to protect her young ones.
Some animal mothers abandon offspring in favour of a single child. Pandas almost always have twins but abandon one twin to the wild. A panda mom makes her selection based on strength, choosing the child she believes has a better chance of survival.
Hooded grebes swim away with the first chick that hatches, abandoning any remaining eggs. It pays to be the firstborn when your mom’s a hooded grebe.
Seahorses: The Only Male Animals in the World that get pregnant and give birth.Seahorses and their close relatives – pipefish and seadragons – belong to the scientific family Syngnathidae. While male seahorses are the only ones that hold developing eggs in a true pouch, male pipefish and seadragons carry developing eggs attached to an area on the underside of their bodies. Through a placenta-like connection, they also supply nutrients and oxygen to their young. For weedy seadragons (pictured below) the eggs start bright pink, and darken as they develop. Scientists theorise that males in the Syngnathidae family have evolved to carry the babies, allowing the species to create more babies quickly. Thus providing better chances of overall survival for the species. While the male bears the young, the female can prepare more eggs. Then, she can implant the eggs in the male soon after he gives birth. This reproduction method also seems to distribute energy costs more evenly between males and females.
While seahorse dads go the extra mile to give birth, the parents do not provide their tiny offspring with any care or protection after birth. Infant seahorses are susceptible to death from predators and being swept into ocean currents, where they drift away from feeding grounds rich in microscopic organisms.
DEPRIVATION, PRIVATION AND SEPARATION
In the context of attachment theory, the terms "deprivation," "privation," and "separation" have specific meanings:
Deprivation (Maternal Deprivation):
Meaning: Deprivation, in attachment theory, refers to the disruption or loss of an existing attachment bond between a child and their primary caregiver, typically the mother. It occurs when a child who has already formed a secure attachment is separated from or loses that attachment figure for an extended period.
Significance: Maternal deprivation, as proposed by John Bowlby, suggests that such disruptions during a critical period in a child's development can lead to emotional and psychological difficulties, including affectionless psychopathy and the inability to form secure relationships later in life.
Privation:
Meaning: Privation in attachment theory refers to the absence of any attachment figure during a child's early formative years. It implies that a child has not had the opportunity to form any attachment relationship with a primary caregiver.
Significance: John Bowlby made a distinction between deprivation (loss of an existing attachment) and privation (lack of any attachment), arguing that privation might have even more severe consequences for a child's emotional and social development. Privation was a theoretical concept that Bowlby used to emphasize the importance of early attachment relationships.
Separation:
Meaning: Separation in attachment theory refers to the temporary physical or emotional distance between a child and their primary caregiver. It can occur due to various reasons, such as a parent leaving for work, a child attending school, or short-term hospitalization.
Significance: While separation is a normal part of life, attachment theorists like John Bowlby were concerned with prolonged or frequent separations during a child's critical periods of development. They believed that excessive or extended separations without appropriate substitutes could potentially lead to attachment disruptions and emotional distress in children.
In summary, in the context of attachment theory, "deprivation" relates to the loss of an existing attachment bond, "privation" refers to the absence of any attachment bond, and "separation" involves temporary distance or absence from the primary caregiver. These concepts are essential for understanding how early attachment experiences can impact a child's emotional and social development.
