Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied 60 infants from birth at intervals of four weeks. The mother reported on the child’s behaviour in a number of situations, such as, when the infant was left alone, with the babysitter or put to be
Schaffer and Emerson were interested in the child's protestations at the departure of their caregivers:
- Did the infant protest when the person left?
- How much did the infant protest?
- Whose departure resulted in protest?
It
was found that infants were often attached to people who did not
perform caretaking activities like feeding, bathing and changing
nappies. Moreover, the primary attachment was often the father,
sometimes the attachment was of equal strength for both parents (see
table). What did seem to be important, however, was the quality of
interactions that caregivers have with the child. Babies formed
stronger attachments with caregivers who were sensitive and responsive
to their needs.
Harry Harlow's (1958) famous experiment with
rhesus monkeys also poses problems for the learning theory explanation
of attachment. Harlow had previously carried out many studies on rhesus
monkeys and, for the purpose of these experiments, had separated them
from their mothers and had fed them using tiny bottles. Harlow noticed
that the monkeys became very attached to the cloth pads (folded
towelling nappies) used to cover the floors of their cages; the monkeys
often had violent tantrums when the cloths were removed for sanitary
purposes.
Harlow decided to carry out a study whereby
separated baby monkeys would have the opportunity to choose between a
surrogate wire monkey that provides food and one which provides
comfort, but no food. The video clip below shows what he found
References
Dollard J., & Miller, N. E. (1950). Personality and psychotherapy. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Gewirtz, J. L. (1961). A learning analysis of the effects of normal stimulation privation and deprivation on the acquisition of social motivation and attachment. In B. M. Foss ( Ed. ), Determinants of infant behaviour. London: Methuen; New York: Wiley, pp. 213-290.
Harlow, H. (1958) The Nature of Love. American Psychologist, 13, 673-685
