Defining_Attachment_and_Imprinting_Within_Child_Psychology

Defining Attachment and Imprinting within Child Psychology • Attachment • Imprinting Attachment Psychologists disagree about many things, but they generally agrees that humans are social creatures and that how they relate to one another has a great deal to do with their ultimate happiness and sense of well-being. Likewise, they agree that the emotional bonds that form between infants and their caregivers establishes the foundation for how a child will get along with other children. Connections with peers ultimately help determine how easily later intimate relationships become established. These emotional bonds are generally described as infants’ or children’s attachment style, the way they relate to their caregivers. Various theories have been proposed to explain why and how attachment styles evolve but a combination of genes, learning, modelling and parenting styles no doubt contribute to the process. Those styles begin to appear in the first year of life. In a general sense, during the first couple of months of life, infants respond to all people in almost the same manner. From 2 to 7 months, they show signs of recognising people they have seen frequently. Finally, from 7 months to 1 year and beyond they begin demonstrating protest on separation from caregivers, fear of strangers and some signs of intentional communication. More specific attachment styles appear by the time children reach 12 to 24 months of age. Researchers conducted a large series of studies in which infants engaged in various interactions with their mothers as well as strangers. On the basis of predominately their reunion behaviours (although other behaviours are taken into account) infants can be categorized into three 'organized' attachment categories: Secure, Avoidant, Ambivalent and a fourth category, termed Disorganized. Based on these studies, the researchers determined that children can usually be classified in one of the following attachment styles: • Secure attachment: Most infants demonstrate this attachment style, which is characterized by using the mother or another primary caregiver (father, siblings, grandparents), as a safe, secure base that allows them to explore their environment with comfort. If they are briefly separated from their mothers, they may be distressed, but they are easily soothed upon the mother’s return. Babies may form a secure attachment to multiple caregivers. Securely attached children are best able to explore when they have the knowledge of a secure base to return to in times of need. When assistance is given, this strengthens the sense of security and also, assuming the parent's assistance is helpful, educates the child in how to cope with the same problem in the future. Therefore, secure attachment can be seen as the most adaptive attachment style. According to some psychological researchers, a child becomes securely attached when the parent is available and able to meet the needs of the child in a responsive and appropriate manner. Others have pointed out that there are also other factors of the child's attachment, and that behaviour of the parent may in turn be influenced by the child's behaviour. • Avoidant attachment (insecure): These infants do not show as much distress if they are separated from their mothers. When a mother returns, however, the baby avoids contact with her and ignores her attempts to communicate. • Ambivalent resistant attachment (insecure): if these infants are separated from their mothers, they become very upset and distressed, and they are not easily soothed and comforted by the mothers’ return. They may cry and show signs of anger towards their mothers. • Disorganised attachment (insecure): These infants demonstrate disorganised, inconsistent patterns of behaviour when they are separated from and reunited with their mothers. They can look fearful, odd, dazed, and/or disorientated. They may freeze or start rocking in a repetitive manner. Each of these groups reflects a different kind of attachment relationship with the mother. A child may have a different type of attachment to each parent as well as to unrelated caregivers. Attachment style is thus not so much a part of the child's thinking, but is characteristic of a specific relationship. Imprinting First described by an Austrian researcher, Konrad Lorenz, imprinting is said to occur when innate behaviours are released in response to a learnt stimulus. Most imprinting promotes survival of newborn animals and shapes their future breeding activities. Imprinting has a number of characteristics. 1. Critical sensitive period - Imprinting occurs at a particular time (termed the sensitive period) during early postnatal life. For example, in birds such as ducks and geese, the time for imprinting is 24-48 hours after hatching when the 'following response' is learnt. At this time a gosling learns to follow his mother who is normally the first large moving creature in his world. In these species imprinting can occur on any object within a certain size range regardless of its colour or shape. Movement helps to attract attention but is by no means essential. Although the dominant sense involved in imprinting is sight, sound and smell are also involved. Although Lorenz was the first to record his observations in a scientific manner, the essence of imprinting had long been recognised. Imprinting seems more important in some species, in which the offspring are less dependent on their mothers for food and warmth, than in other species which often confine their more vulnerable, and often hairless, young to nests. They learn similar lessons rather later in life during what are called "socialisation periods". These apply when the animal's sensory, motor and thermoregulatory systems are fully functional and they learn to move away from their mother and to interact with others of the same and other species. 2. Imprinting is irreversible: The imprinted knowledge is retained for life. Of all forms of learning, imprinting is the least likely to be forgotten or unlearned. 3. Imprinting establishes an individual animal's preference for a certain species - Contrary to what one might predict to be their genetic tendency, once they have imprinted, animals will always prefer to follow the learned stimulus rather than a member of their own species. The following response in ducks that have imprinted on humans means that the ducks will preferentially follow any human rather any duck. 4. Some behaviour is affected by imprinting more than others - Not all behaviour is affected by imprinting. Lorenz noted with some amusement that jackdaws that had imprinted on him would court his favour by presenting him with juicy fresh earthworms and would even attempt to introduce these into his ear-holes. 5. Stressful stimuli supports imprinting - If there is an increased level of stress at the time of the original imprinting, the learning is more robust that normal.