Psychology Revision - Attachment

Psychology Revision - Attachment Definition of Attachment A close emotional bond between 2 people characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain closeness. The Stage Theory (Schaffer and Emerson) Schaffer and Emerson developed a stage theory of attachment (based on their 2 year study of Glaswegian babies) The Asocial Stage (0 6 weeks) During this stage, emotional behaviour such as crying and smiling is directed at anyone or anything. Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks 7 months) During this stage, the infant is generally content when receiving attention from anyone. Specific attachment (7-11 months) The infant in this stage forms a strong attachment to one individual, but good attachments to others often follow shortly after this. EVALUATION: + The view that the development of attachment is primarily through a series of stages has received a degree of approval. Observations seem to support the stage theory. In fact, researchers go as far as suggesting that most children in all societies go through these stages in much the same way. + There is also an acceptance of separation protest and separation anxiety, which has also been found in several studies. These responses suggest that children have formed schemas for familiar or unfamiliar people. - Many researchers actually disagree with the concept of the asocial stage. Bowlby, for example, believed that babies were equipped with a range of social behaviours such as babbling and crying that forms the basis for them to behave in social ways towards people. - Also, later research also suggested that babies are not as asocial as described. Research indicates how babies will smile more broadly when they see their caregiver or hear their voice. Evidence also points to the fact that even at one week old, babies are able to recognise their mothers face. - The idea suggests that development is fixed- that children automatically go through particular stages at set ages. Development is more fluid and although children may follow this path of development, the age at which they do so varies. - Criticisms can be made in regards to the methodology; the data was collected from either direct observation or from methods kept by the mothers; these are both prone to inaccuracies. - It does not consider the stages of development from an international and cultural level, and some societies have different child-rearing practices. Schaffer and Emersons Study of Glasgow Babies AIMS: Schaffer and Emerson wanted to conduct a large-scale longitudinal study to find out more about the development of attachment. PROCEDURES: This was a longitudinal study, over a period of 2 years, they followed 60 infants from a mainly working class area of Glasgow, keeping a detailed record of their observation. The infants were observed every 4 weeks until they were 1 year old and then again at 18 months. At the start of the investigation, the youngest participant was 5 weeks and the oldest was 23 weeks old Attachment was measured in two ways: 1. Separation Protest in seven everyday situations. The infant was left alone in a room Left alone with other people Left in his/her pram outside the house Left in his/her pram outside the shops Left in his/her cot at night Put down after being held by an adult Passed by while sitting in his/her cot or chair. 2. Stranger anxiety Every visit started with the researcher approaching the infant and noting at what point the infant started to whimper, thus displaying anxiety. Separation protest and stranger anxiety are signs that an attachment has formed. Before this stage of specific attachments infants show neither of these behaviours. FINDINGS: Half of the children showed their first specific attachment between 25 and 32 weeks (6-8 months). Fear of strangers occurred about a month later in all the children.

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The intensity of attachment peaked in the first month after attachment behaviour first appeared, as measured by the strength of separation protest. However, there were large individual differences. Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands (high responsiveness) and who offered the child the most interaction. Infants who were weakly attached had mothers who failed to interact. Soon after one main attachment was formed, the infants also became attached to other people. By 18 months very few (13%) were attached to only one person, 31% had five or more attachments, such as father, grandparent, or older sibling. In 65% of the children, the first specific attachment was to the mother, and in a further 30% the mother was the first joint object of attachment. In 39% of the cases the person who usually fed, bathed, and changed the child was not the childs primary attachment object. In other words, many of the mothers were not the person who performed these tasks yet they were the main attachment object.

EVALUATION: + The study remains one of the largest longitudinal studies of infant attachment behaviour and a classic, despite the fact that it was conducted more than 35 years ago. - Criticisms can be made about the methodology, mostly in relation to the data collection. It was collected either by direct observation or from the records kept by the mother, which are both prone to inaccuracy. - Mothers were asked to record situations where separation protest was shown, and to whom these protests were directed. it is possible that a busy mother may have had to manufacture these records some days after the events and her memory may have been influenced by expectations + On the other hand, such data would have been more accurate than the retrospective recollections used in many studies, and would have more ecological validity than data collected in laboratory observations such as the Strange Situation.

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Individual Differences in Attachments Definitions of Attachment Types Secure: A strong and contented attachment of an infant to its caregiver, related to healthy cognitive and emotional development. This is the optimal type of attachment. The securely attached individual is able to function independently because their caregiver acts as a secure base. The infant is distressed by the caregivers absence. However, he or she rapidly returns to a state of contentment after the caregivers return, immediately seeking contact with the caregiver. Insecure: A form of attachment between infant and caregiver that is not optimal for healthy cognitive or emotional development i.e. avoidant and resistant attachment. This comes in the form of resistant and avoidant. Infants who have a resistant attachment with their caregiver is insecure in the presence of their caregiver, and becomes distressed when they leave. He or she resists contact with the caregiver when they return, and is wary of the stranger Avoidant attachment is characterised by the infant not seeking contact with the caregiver, and showing little distress when separated. The infant avoids contact with the caregiver upon return. The infant treats the stranger the same way to the caregiver, often avoiding him or her. The Strange Situation Mary Ainsworth designed an experiment to measure the type of attachment between an infant and their caregiver. She called this The Strange Situation. AIMS: To investigate individual variation in infant attachments; in particular differences between secure and insecure attachments They hoped that their method of assessing attachments, the Strange Situation test, would prove to be a reliable and valid measure of attachments PROCEDURES: The Strange Situation test lasts for about 20 minutes and was used on American infants aged between 12 and 18 months. It takes place in a laboratory and the method used is controlled observation The Strange Situation consists of eight episodes, which involve the infant being separated from their caregiver, being with a stranger, and reunion with the caregiver. There are two separations and two reunions Separation protest, the infants willingness to explore, stranger anxiety and reaction to reunion with the caregiver are the key behaviours used to assess the security/insecurity of the attachment relationship FINDINGS: There were considerable individual differences in behaviour and emotional response in the Strange Situation Most of the infants displayed behaviour categorised as typical of secure attachment (70%) 10% were anxious/resistant and 20% were anxious/avoidant The securely attached infants were distressed when separated from the caregiver, and sought contact and soothing on reunion Anxious/resistant attachment was characterised by conflicting emotions and inconsistency, as the infants were very distressed at separation, but resisted the caregiver on reunion. Anxious/avoidant attachment was characterised by detachment as the infants did not seek contact with the caregiver and showed little distress at separation CONCLUSIONS: The Strange Situation is a good measure of attachment in that it allows us to distinguish between the attachment types It was concluded that secure attachment is the preferred type of attachment Implications include the linking of secure attachment to healthy emotional and social development and the type of attachment to maternal sensitivity and responsiveness. EVALUATION:

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+ Much research has confirmed the usefulness of the Strange Situation test, and the three types of attachment identified by Ainsworth et al. + Studies that have used the Strange Situation have found that it is reliable (if the same child was tested the same results would be found). + Evidence seems to suggest that securely attached infants are well adjusted both socially and emotionally later in their life, which is what the Strange Situation stated therefore it appears to be valid. + The Strange Situation is easily repeated, its procedures allow the experiment to be repeated under the same conditions. - The ecological validity of the classification (attachment categories, e.g. secure, insecure) was questioned. Also a fourth attachment type was suggested by Main and Solomon. They found that a small number of infants displayed disorganised attachment, in which the infants showed no consistent pattern of behaviour, and fitted none of the three main attachment types. However, Main and Solomon accepted the validity of the three identified attachment types by Ainsworth et al. - The Strange Situation was created and tested in the USA. As a result, it may be culturally biased (ethnocentric), as it is likely to reflect the norms and values of American culture. The Strange Situation test assumes that behaviour has the same meaning in all cultures, when in fact social constructions of behaviour differ. Therefore, the usefulness of the Strange Situation in assessing attachment across cultures may be limited by the subjectivity inherent in observation and interpretation of behaviour. - The lack of generalisability means that the ecological validity of the Strange Situation may be questioned - The Strange Situation is artificial in ways that may distort behaviour. For example, some mothers or caregivers are likely to behave differently towards their child when they know they are being observed than they would do at home when they are alone with their child. - The Strange Situation is carried out in a laboratory, and so it can also be artificial in this way - The ethics of this study are questionable as mothers and babies may become distressed / anxious, although episodes were cut short it they were.

Types of Attachment The Strange Situation has been used in numerous other studies to assess attachment. Based on Ainsworths studies three types of attachments have been identified: Secure Attachment - When the caregiver is present the infant explores the strange environment and plays happily and uses the caregiver as a secure base. - The infant shows distress when the caregiver leaves - 70 % of American children show secure attachment. Insecure Resistant Attachment - The children remain close to their mother, showing signs of insecurity even in her presence - The infant becomes distressed when the caregiver is absent and is difficult to comfort on reunion - The infant may show inconsistent behaviour such as hitting while clinging, the parent also shows inconsistent behaviour. - 10% of American children were found to be resistant Insecure Avoidant Attachment - The infant shows little or no concern when the mother leaves, and displays little pleasure when she returns. - They can be comforted and calmed down by the stranger just as well as the mother. - The infant shows little preference for the mother over the stranger, often avoiding both. - 20% of American children showed avoidant attachment.

Cross Cultural Variation in Attachment Different cultures have different norms about childrearing and different values about the way children and parents ought to behave. Sagi conducted studies using The Strange Situation inside and outside America the results were as follows: American children Secure attachment = 71% Anxious/Resistant = 12% Avoidant = 17% Israeli children Israeli children were raised on a kibbutz, a largely self-contained community, like a large extended family and therefore they saw very few strangers, were rarely alone but were used to separation from their mothers. Secure attachment = 62% Resistant = 33%

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Avoidant = 5% Anxiety was probably due to the stranger entering, rather than being separated from their mother. Japanese children Showed similar attachments to Israeli children but probably for different reasons. Under normal circumstances children are never left alone at 12 months & mothers rarely leave them in the care of others. Secure attachment = 68% Resistant = 32% Avoidant = 0% Anxiety was probably due to being separated from their mothers as Japanese mothers rarely leave their children. German children Showed a different pattern of attachment to other cultural groups. Secure attachment = 40% Resistant = 11% Avoidant = 49% German children are often encouraged to be independent and not clingy, this may explain the high avoidant figure.

Cross-Cultural Variation Study by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg: AIMS: To investigate variations in attachment styles between different cultures, through a meta-analysis of research that had studied attachments in other cultures. (using other studies results) They compared only the findings of studies that had used the Strange Situation in order to draw conclusions about the external validity of this as a measure of attachment to other populations (population validity) and other settings (ecological validity). PROCEDURES: They used the results of 32 studies that had used the strange situation to measure attachment. Research from 8 different countries was used including Western cultures (e.g. US, Great Britain, Germany) and non-Western cultures (e.g. Japan, China, Israel).

FINDINGS: Secure attachment was the most common type of attachment in all 8 nations. However, significant differences were found in the distribution of insecure attachments. Western cultures = Avoidant was the dominant insecure attachment Non-Western cultures = Resistant was the dominant insecure attachment There was greater variation within cultures than between cultures. CONCLUSIONS: The overall consistency in attachment types leads to the conclusion that there may be universal characteristics that underpin infant and caregiver interactions However, the significant variations show that universality is limited. The significant differences question the validity of the Strange Situation. The variations in both between and within cultures may show that child-rearing practices vary both between and within cultures. EVALUATION: - The greater variation found within than between cultures shows that it is wrong to think of any culture as a whole. This means that we have to be careful not to over generalise results, and assume that one culture consists of the same practices. - It is oversimplified to view Britain or America as one single culture, as within each culture there are many sub-cultures differing in the nature of attachment types. - Therefore, the findings may not be representative of the culture they are assumed to represent, and will generalise back only to the sub-cultures that were sampled. - The Strange Situation was created and tested in the USA, which means that it may be culturally biased (ethnocentric). In other words, the Strange Situation reflects the norms and values of American culture (e.g. the belief that attachment is related to anxiety on separation). - Those who use the Strange Situation assume that behaviour has the same meaning in all cultures, when in fact social constructions of behaviour differ. For example, in Japan young infants are rarely parted from their mother, whereas German infants are taught to be independent from a young age. - As a result, the Strange Situation lacks ecological and population validity, which means that the findings and insights may not be genuine.

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+ In spite of its limitations, the Strange Situation is the only test of infant attachment that has been used in several different countries. + It could be argued that findings from the test could be used to understand some of the main sub-cultural differences found within any given country.

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Explanations of Attachment Bowlbys Theory of Attachment John Bowlby was a child psychoanalyst interested in the relationship between child and their caregiver. He was influenced by the evolutionary theory & believed that attachment was an innate response, which evolved and served to promote survival in several ways such as: Safety Attachment results in the desire to maintain proximity and therefore ensured safety. Emotional relationships Attachment enables the infant to learn how to form and conduct healthy relationships. Bowlby used the concept of the internal working model; a blueprint for all future relationships. A secure base for exploration Attachment also provides a secure base for exploration, which is fundamental for a childs cognitive development. Social releasers Bowlby argued that attachment was innate and reciprocal, and the infant communicated their needs through the role of social releasers, such as crying. These social releasers result in a desire for care giving from the parent. Monotropy This is the idea that the attachment between infant and caregiver is unique and special. Saucy Elephants Bathe In Mud EVALUATION: + This theory has been extremely influential within developmental psychology, and has paved the way for further research in attachment. + Bowlbys idea of monotropy has been supported via cross-cultural studies. + There has also been support for Bowlbys idea of social releasers. - The idea of an internal working model has been criticised. Bowlby argued that a childs relationship with his or her caregiver provided a blueprint for later emotional relationships. However, this could be explained simply as some children being able to form relationships better. - His idea of monotropy has also been criticised, as some argue that multiple attachments may be more desirable than a single primary attachment. - Bowlbys premise rests on an evolutionary argument; however, it is not possible to prove that attachment is innate. Bowlby argued that attachment evolved to protect the survival of the young, otherwise they would die. Although the evolutionary approach may seem sensible and valid on the surface, it is post hoc, meaning that it is after the event. It is based on observing behaviour and then proposing a survival function to account for it. The problem with this is that any behaviour can be explained in this way, and it is also difficult to test. Freuds Theory of Attachment Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis He came up with the Psychoanalytic Theory, which attempts to explain human behaviour in terms of an interaction between innate drives (desire for pleasure) and early childhood experiences (the extent desires were gratified). There are two theories involved within this explanation: - The Personality Theory - The theory of Psychosexual Development Freuds Personality Theory The ID = The ID is present at birth. It is impulsive, subjective and pleasure seeking. It operates on the pleasure principle. It demands immediate gratification / satisfaction for instinctual needs The EGO = This develops from the ID in order for us to cope with the external world. It operates on the reality principle. The SUPEREGO = The superego is the last to develop and is concerned with our moral judgments. It is our conscious and can instil guilt if we engage in immoral behaviour. Freuds Psychosexual Stages The Oral Stage = This stage takes place as a child is 0 1 year old.

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At this stage a child is still breast-feeding and being weaned, the focus of point of pleasure is the mouth. As well getting food, children are also getting comfort and knowledge of the world through their mouths. Freud suggested that if a child experiences a trauma in the fist year they can become fixated in the oral stage and consequently continue to display oral characteristics into adulthood e.g. thumb sucking.

The Anal Stage = This stage takes place when a child is aged between 1 and 3 years. At this stage the focus point of pleasure is the anus. The child becomes aware that they are a person in their own right and that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the outside world Freud asserted that this type of conflict tends to come to a head in potty training, in which adults impose restrictions. Early or harsh potty training could lead to a child gaining an anal-retentive personality a person who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, organised, punctual and respectful to authority. Alternatively they could demonstrate an anal-expulsive personality a person who is messy, disorganised and rebellious. The Phallic Stage = This stage takes place when a child is about 3 6 years. It is the self-manipulation of the genitals that provides the source of pleasure as the child becomes aware of their gender. The Latency Stage = This stage takes place up to the age of about 12. The child becomes more concerned with developing skills and other activities occur. The Genital Stage = This takes place after puberty The deepest feelings of pleasure come from relationships. Using the Personality Theory and also the Psychosexual Stages Freud came up with the Psychodynamic Approach to explain attachment. The Psychodynamic Approach Sigmund Freud (1924) put forward a simple account of an infants attachment to their mother. He argued that babies like being with their mothers because their mother is their source of food, comfort, and warmth. This explanation is sometimes referred to as cupboard love. His views on early attachment stemmed from his theory of development. According to his theory an adults personality is very dependent on childhood experiences. He stated that childhood could be divided into 5 stages of psychosexual development, stages during which the child is biologically driven to seek pleasure in certain ways. The first stage of psychosexual development is the oral stage when pleasure is derived orally, for example sucking at the mothers breast. This results in an attachment to the mother because she is associated with the satisfaction of pleasure. The first attachment has long lasting effects. Freud argues that the mothers status was established unalterably for a whole lifetime as the first and the strongest love-object and as the prototype for all later love relations. Evaluation of the Psychodynamic Approach Freuds theory suggests that attachment behaviour in babies will be related to feeding but we have seen that this is not the case. For example, Schaffer and Emerson found with about 40% of human infants were not mainly attached to the adult who fed, bathed, and changed them. Thus there is not a simple link between food and attachment behaviour. Infants were most likely to become attached to adults who were responsive to them and who provided them with much stimulation. Freuds approach is difficult to test scientifically. It has also been argued that Freud overestimated the importance of body parts and the sexual nature of childrens development.

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Deprivation and Privation Deprivation Deprivation / separation Occurs when a child has formed an attachment but is then separated. Short-term Short-term separation occurs usually when infants are in day care or an infant or caregiver has a short stay in hospital. Long term Long-term separation can occur when families split up and one parent is given custody of the child, or when one or both parents die. Long Term Effects of Deprivation The Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis Bowlby proposed the Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis, it focuses on the effects of deprivation. He argues that if the main attachment bond is broken in early years (up to 3 years) then it will have an adverse affect on the childs emotional, social, and cognitive development. EVALUATION: - Rutter pointed out that Bowlby had assumed that all experiences of deprivation were the same, whereas in fact there are some quite key differences. - Children may experience very short-term separations, or they may have repeated prolonged separations. - Children may experience separation without bond disruption, or children may have no adequate substitute maternal care. - Finally, children may experience deprivation as a result of never having formed any attachments. - Many of Bowlbys juvenile delinquents had experienced several changes of home and of principal caregiver during their early childhood. This indicated to Rutter that their later problems were due to privation rather than deprivation, which he argued was much more severe and long lasting than deprivation. + The evidence from his study appears to support the maternal deprivation hypothesis, the idea that maternal deprivation in early life can result in psychological and behavioural problems later in life. - However, his sample was not representative, as the vast majority of juvenile thieves were not referred to clinics for treatment. - Bowlby interviewed the boys and their families and in this case the data is retrospective based on looking back and recalling past events. It relied very much on the memories of the boys and their mothers. As a result, it could have inaccuracies. Long-term effects of Deprivation/Separation Bowlbys Study of 44 Thieves: AIMS: To establish cause-and-effect relationship between maternal deprivation and emotional maladjustment based on his observations of patients at his child guidance clinic. He had observed that children showing poor emotional development had often experienced separation/deprivation and suggested that this could result in psychological and behavioural problems later on in life. PROCEDURES: Bowlby focused on a group of 44 children that had been referred to the child guidance clinic because of stealing. He compared them with a control group of 44 children who were referred to the clinic because of emotional problems and not because of crime. It was an opportunity sample of 88 children, Blowlby worked at the child guidance clinic (were the participants were selected). FINDINGS: Bowlby diagnosed 32% of the thieves as affectionless psychopaths, but none of the controls were. 86% of the thieves diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths had experienced maternal separation before the age of 5 years Whereas only 17% of the thieves not diagnosed had experienced maternal separation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings shows that maternal deprivation can have sever effects. It could cause permanent emotional damage

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According to Bowlby, an affectionless psychopath has a lack of emotional development, characterised by lack of concern for others, lack of guilt, and inability to form meaningful and lasting relationships. The implications were that this research could be used to inform on issues concerning parenting; in particular, the potential negative consequences of mothers working.

EVALUATION: - The research was correlational and non-experimental separation/deprivation cannot be manipulated as an IV and so cause and effect cannot be inferred. Therefore, it cannot be said that separation/deprivation causes emotional damage or affectionless psychopathy. Other factors may have led to these outcomes (e.g. conflict with the family) At most, we can say that separation/deprivation and affectionless psychopathy are linked. Therefore Bowlbys conclusions were flawed.. - The study was vulnerable to researcher bias. Bowlby conducted the case studies and made the diagnosis of affectionless psychopathy. As a result, the findings may have been biased by his own expectations. Bowlby may have unconsciously influenced what he expected to find during the implementation of interpretation of the research, thereby undermining its validity. Bowlby emphasised the notion of affectionless psychopathy. However, it is rather vague and hard to assess, and has not been used by other researchers. This makes it difficult to determine whether there is support for the maternal deprivation hypothesis. Privation Privation Occurs when a child has never formed an attachment with anyone i.e. with institutionalised children. The Long Term Effects of Privation (Hodges and Tizard): AIMS: To investigate the permanence of long-term effects of privation (the state of a child who has never formed a close attachment with anyone) due to institutionalisation, including emotional and social effects in adolescence. This followed Bowlbys claim that maternal deprivation would cause permanent emotional damage, and earlier contradictory research by Tizard, which suggested that the negative effects of privation could be reversed. PROCEDURES: 65 children who had been taken into care before the age of 4 months formed an opportunity sample. This was natural experiment, using a matched pairs design, as the institutionalised children were compared with a control group who were raised at home. It was a longitudinal study, (age on entering care to 16 years). By the age of 4 years, 24 had been adopted, 15 restored to their natural home and the rest remained in the institution. The children were assessed at ages 4, 8 and 16 on emotional and social competence through interview and self-report questionnaires. FINDINGS: At the age of 4, children had not formed deep attachments, and they were highly attention seeking. By age 8, significant differences did exist between the adopted and restored children. Most of the adopted and restored children had formed close relationships with their caregivers and were as attached as the control group. However at school they were very attention seeking and tended to be unpopular with their peers. At 16 the adopted children were still closely attached with their adoptive parents, where as the attachment bond was fragmented between the restored children and their parents. Both the restored and adopted children were less likely to have a best friend or be part of a group or liked by other children. Many displayed bullying behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Their study suggests that early privation had a negative effect on the ability for some of the children to form relationships especially outside of the home with other peers and adults. Some of the effects of privation can be reversed, as the children were able to form attachments in spite of their privation. However, some privation effects are long lasting, as shown by the difficulties that the institutionalised children faced at school. This suggests a need for research into possible reasons why the adopted children fared better than the restored children and the importance of high-quality subsequent care if the effects of privation are to be reversed. Hence, there are practical implications for care home, adoption, and fostering practices.

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EVALUATION: - Problems of a longitudinal study include the sample drop-off. Hodges and Tizard noted that the adopted children who remained in the study had shown better adjustment at age 4. In contrast, the restored children who remained in the study had shown more adjustment problems at age 4. Thus, the sample drop-off left a biased sample. - This biased sample may have distorted the difference between the adopted children and the restored children, because the adopted children were better adjusted at the start of the study. - Consequently, the findings may lack validity, which reduces their meaningfulness and generalisability. - As this was a natural experiment, the IV cannot be directly manipulated, and so cause and effect cannot be inferred. Therefore, it cannot be said that privation causes long-term social and emotional effects, such as the difficulties the children had forming peer relationships. At best privation can be implicated in this effect, meaning that conclusions are limited. - It is misleading to assume that restored children will always show less social adjustment than adopted children. What happens depends crucially on the reasons why the restored children were initially taken into care and on the amount of love and affection they receive when restored to their natural home. - It is also important to note that there were some considerable individual differences within each group. Some of the restored children actually had good family relations and some of the adopted children didnt. This reminds us that individual differences are important and that early attachment experiences are not the only cause of later maladjustment.

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Day Care Day care is a temporary alternative of care for a child / children from the main caregiver. It can take many forms from nurseries, childminders, playgroups etc. Kinds of Day Care Day Nurseries and Childminders: Day Nurseries: Day nurseries are organisations set up to care for pre-school children during the day. They are usually employed by fully qualified staff. Kagan et al studies nurseries by setting up their own in Boston. The intake was of middle and lower class families from various ethnic groups. They focused on 33 infants who attended the nursery full time from the age of 3 months, and compared them with a matched home control group. The children were assessed for 2 years, measuring attachment, sociability cognitive skills and they found no significant differences between the nursery and home children. This suggests that day care does not cause harmful effects on a childs development. Andersson conducted a large-scale study in Sweden and also concluded that day care had few negative effects on children and in fact many children benefited from the care. However, day care in Sweden is of very good quality, particularly because it is so well funded by the Swedish government. Child minders: This is a form of day care in which an individual will take care of one or more pre-school children. Some people prefer this because it is similar to the care they may receive in their own home. Research has shown varied results for childminding. Mayall and Petrie studied a group of London children under 2 years old. They found a variation of the quality of childcare shown. More than half of them provided stimulation and a high quality of care and attention to the children; these children were thriving. Others, however, were failing to thrive. This was due to two main explanations: an on-going conflict within the home, and a childminder that was not stimulating and lacked affection. Bryant et al researched childminding in the leafy suburbs of Oxfordshire where there was none of the social deprivation of inner city London. However, the findings were not much more reassuring. Bryant et al interviewed mothers and childminders and observed the children with both. In general, the children were not given a great deal of attention from the minders. They considered it their job only to ensure that the children were physically cared for, rather than stimulated or encouraged. There was very little play or one-to-one conversation between the minder and the child. They found that about a quarter of the children were happy both at the minders home and their own home. Of the other 75%, half were unnaturally quiet, passive and detached at the minders, but responsive at home. The other half were unresponsive and detached in both environments. Although the findings are rather depressing, Bryant argues that childminding can be successful if the children are stimulated, encouraged and treated well. Cognitive Development Cognitive Development refers to the intellectual growth. It includes thinking, reasoning, problem solving, knowledge, understanding, language and maths. Most evidence seems to suggest that day care can have a positive effect rather than a negative on childrens cognitive development. Burchinal et al tested the IQ of children entering school and found that those who had been in day care usually performed better than those who had been at home. Which suggests that children can indeed benefit from the various activities and stimulation they receive. Broberg et al studied 146 Swedish children. He compared children who went to day care, those looked after by a childminder and those who remained home. When these children were assessed at age 8, the children who had gone to day care performed significantly better on verbal and mathematical ability than the other groups. Children who had a child minder performed the worst on the tests. Social Development Social development refers to the development of a childs relationships with other people (both adults and children). Day care can have a positive or negative effect on a childs sociability. Various studies have found that

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children who often go to a day nursery become more active, outgoing and playful. However the nursery experience can be threatening to children who are shy and unsociable. Psychologists would describe a socially well-adjusted child as one who gets on with others and equally has a certain degree of independence. Shea videotaped 3 4 year olds in the playground during their first 10 weeks at a new nursery school. She found that children became increasingly more sociable over time. The increases in sociability were higher for those children who attended nursery for 5 days a week, than those who only attended for 2 days. Clarke-Stewart el at studied 150 children aged between 2 3 years from various social backgrounds. The study took place in a day care based in Chicago. They found that children were developing strong peer relationships for example they learnt how to cope in social situations and how to negotiate with others. Arguments Against Day Care Argument 1 = Separation from ones primary caregiver Bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis (44 thieves) states that prolonged separation from a caregiver can affect a childs social, emotional and cognitive development. Day care is a form of deprivation between a caregiver and child therefore it can affect the continuous relationship. Argument 2 = Quality of care offered in day care may not be as good as by parents. Parents can provide a different kind of attention for the child as well as more empathy (considering childrens feelings). Day care providers may look for peace and quiet rather than stimulation. Argument 3 = Studies suggest that day care can be related to a negative outcome Baydar et al studied 1000 children and concluded their cognitive development was lower if their mothers went to work before they were 1 year old, compared to those who started work later. How to Improve Day Care Within Day Care it is the consistency and quality of care that could be improved ways of doing so are as follows Consistency of Care A number of studies point to the importance of consistency in care. In order to improve consistency day care facilities need to find some way of ensuring minimal staff turnover, and to arrange staff so that each child is assigned to a particular staff member who is more or less constantly available, and that they feel responsible for that child. It is important to have consistent routines and physical environments Quality of Care One important characteristic of quality of care is the amount of verbal interaction between the child and the caregiver. Another way is to increase the availability of toys, books and other playthings that are likely to stimulate the child. Day carers also need to provide the child with sensitive emotional care.

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