All individuals differ in the way they process information in their surroundings. The processing of this information may be influenced by their social environment which includes their parents, siblings, friends or teachers. These relationships in the social environment are vital throughout human development as they have an emotional and social impact on the individual (Bowlby, 1973). Over time, researchers have spent time establishing factors related to individual differences in social information processing. These differences within individuals are believed to be a product of the type of relationship that is maintained with other individuals in the surrounding environment. This essay will proceed by evaluating the evidence provided to explain how attachments in early childhood influence information about relationships and adulthood. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the most significant theories developed to enlighten us on the understanding of attachment was the attachment theory proposed by Bowlby (1969/1982/ 1973, 1980, 1988) this theory arises from the idea that the processing of social information it is directly influenced by how individuals perceived personal experiences within intimate relationships. His main hypothesis was that human beings were built with an internal working model which in other words is a mental image of the relationship we have with the person who primarily cares for us (usually a parent) which becomes almost like a model of our future relationships. Although the internal working model functions based on attachment experiences, these can be insecure or secure. This means that the model can cause adaptive or maladaptive information processing depending on the initial attachments established. In reference to attachment theory, children are biologically susceptible to forming attachments with the primary caregiver. This is the most crucial attachment since the attachment between the caregiver and the child determines possible future outcomes. This type of attachment is carried out simply because the caregiver is known to provide substantially for the child to meet his or her survival and safety needs. For example, feeding your baby helps him survive and comforting him when he cries is a way to show affection, these things are vital to a baby's development. A supporting statement by Bretherton and Munholland (1999, 2008) states that the internal working model of attachment is consistent with investigations taking place in cognitive neuroscience along with social cognition. For example, Gallese (2005) supports the idea of “small-scale experiments” and establishes the internal workings model along with a more recent suggestion that neurons allow primates to understand the actions of others through “embodied simulation” . that the model aligns with theories of social cognition regarding the development of internal representations from social experiences. When studying the 44 thieves, Bowlby aimed to explore whether maternal deprivation had any long-term effects on individuals and to see whether offenders also suffered from maternal deprivation as it is crucial for the mother to maintain a healthy relationship with her child during the early years. stages of childhood (0-2 years), as failure to do so can have long-term negative effects on the child's social and emotional development in the later future period. He collected eighty-eight children through samplingopportunity from a clinic where forty-four were thieves. Bowlby found that half of the thieves had experienced separation from their mothers for a period of six months or more during the first five years, suggesting that attachment types may not be forming properly. Bowlby emphasizes that the attachment we have to our mothers is special and specific and is the most important bond we have, however, Schaffer and Emerson (964) implied that after eight months these children have become attached to more people and by eighteen months have also attached themselves to more people who can be argued against monotropy. Furthermore, Weisner and Gallimore (977) stated that there are several caregivers involved in caring for children, such as friends and neighbors. This suggests that perhaps we don't need a specific bond with our mothers to have normal social and emotional development, but we do need to have a positive relationship with a caregiver in general. On the other hand, Bowlby's maternal deprivation is supported by Harlow's monkeys (1958), who illustrated how monkeys raised in isolation experienced social and emotional problems as they aged. These monkeys failed to form attachments and as a result grew to become more irritated and isolated from other monkeys. This suggests that having a secure attachment with your child from an early age is important and that maternal deprivation will impact the child for the foreseeable future. Experiments and studies have been conducted, predominantly on infants and younger children, to examine results and study behavior regarding attachments. Due to the use of infants and children, it was necessary to adapt the experiments, therefore observation methods came into use. One of the famous psychologists, Mary Ainsworth et al (1971, 1878), who had previously worked with Bowlby, formulated a method known as Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to study how different children can acquire different types of attachment. After the study, three main types of attachment were established; secure (type B) insecure avoidant (type A) and insecure resistant (type C) these attachment styles were the result of initial interactions between the primary caregiver (mother) and the infant. Mary Ainsworth's (1971, 1978) findings and conclusions supported and provided quite significant evidence in favor of Bowlby's attachment theory. For example, one of the types of attachment that Ainsworth established during his investigation was secure attachment (type B): these children maintain a positive working model of themselves and others thanks to the positive relationships maintained with their mother from an early age. phases. Additionally, insecure and avoidant (Type A) children may believe and interpret themselves as less deserving due to a denying mother who was unable to take care of their children's needs. Finally, insecure resistant people (type C) have low self-esteem and usually emphasize their response in an emotional way to attract attention and satisfy their needs. These types of attachment are all linked to the working model and the positive relationships are linked through the working model as well as the negative relationships caused by type C and type A. The experiment took place in a normal room where the mother was asked to play with your children. child before introducing a stranger, the room had a one-way mirror so that an observational study could be conducted covertly. The study involves the mother leaving her child alone in the room, which could be considered a violation of ethical guidelines, putting the children under stress and anxiety as they experiment, however others argue that it does not..
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