Discuss functions of attachment that have been proposed by psychologists (12 marks)
A function of attachment which was proposed is called the Cupboard love theory. This suggests that infants attach to those who satisfy their needs i.e. provide nourishment. Therefore, infants will associate their caregivers with gratification. The infant will then go to the caregiver to satisfy their needs and this eventually transitions into a feeling of security when the caregiver is around. However, a study by Harlow refutes this theory. Harlow aimed to study the behaviour of monkeys separated from their mothers at birth to test the effects of separation. He used infant rhesus monkeys which were taken from their mothers (.e. maternal deprivation). They were kept in a cage which two surrogate ‘monkeys’ (although they were not real). One was mae of cloth and covered with a soft blanket whilst the other was a wwire monkey which incorporated a feeding bottle. Te monkeys were kept in these conditions for a period of time, and the release into a cafge with a group of normally reared monekys. He found that infsnt monkeys preferred to spend time with the cloth monkey, apporoximatly 23 hours was spent with this monkey per day and only 1 hour with the wire monkey. When these monkeys were returned to the company of other monkeys, Harlow found that they showed signs of inapporipriate social behaviour and delinquency. They were aggressive to other monkeys and were unable to form normal relationships. If they had offspring, the were extremely poor, neglecting monkeys. Therefore, we can conclude that physical conform is more important for attachemtn than food and that the lack of attachment does show delinquent and antisocial behaviour. Harlow’s work has been criticized. His experiments have been seen as unnecessarily cruel (unethical) and of limited value in attempting to understand the effects of deprivation on human infants. It was clear that the monkeys in this study suffered from emotional harm from being reared in isolation. This was evident when the monkeys where placed with normal monkey (reared with a mother), they sat huddled in a corner in a state of persistent fear and depression. However, it could be argued that the benefits of the research outweigh the costs (suffering of the animals). For example, the research influenced the theoretical work of Bowlby. It could also be seen a vital in convincing people about the importance of emotional care in hospitals, children's homes and day care. It has been useful in seeing the change of hospital policy to now allow parents to stay with their children 24/7.