What is infant attachment?
Q: What is infant attachment?
A: Infant attachment is a special bond first developed in infancy. It is the first relationship an infant has, usually with its mother or parents.
Q: What did Mary Ainsworth's research on human babies find?
A: Mary Ainsworth's research found that children may have different patterns of attachment depending mainly on how they experienced their early caregiving environment.
Q: How does the mother nurse the baby during the first stage of development?
A: During the first stage of development, the mother nurses the baby and stays physically close to them unless she needs to leave to seek food (etc.). While she is gone, the infant(s) remain hidden and quiet, sometimes in a nest or den.
Q: What are some functions of nursing for infants?
A: Nursing serves four functions for infants; it provides food, helps keep them together with their mother for protection, allows them to observe and interact with their mother and learn through that experience, and carries antibodies which gives temporary protection against some infections until their own immune system matures.
Q: How do primates have more complex social behaviors than other mammals?
A: Primates have progressively more complex social behaviors than other mammals due to their increasing size of neocortex. This includes developing perception establishing norms for the body, programming early experiences into patterns of behavior, and being able to identify others within one’s own group as individuals feeling similar to themselves.
Q: How has our mammalian biology been altered by civilization and wealth?
A: With civilization and wealth came changes in childraising practices which were embedded in our mammalian biology such as mothers not typically carrying babies or leaving them briefly with an allomother like a grandmother or aunt.
Q: What are some purposes of infant attachment?
A: The primary purpose of infant attachment is to support brain development while also establishing homeostasis of physiological systems, social and emotional development, learning skills such as what to eat when predators are near, and facilitating social interaction which is essential for survival.
