# data[].attributes.body
Allows the child to do whatever he or she wants. Some parents believe that this style of parenting allows the child to be creative and confident. However, this can lead to the child having issues of respect and no control behavior.

# data[].attributes.body
According to this article, the attachment theory is responsible for shaping our future relationships with others, strengthening or damaging  our ability to calm ourselves and our ability to bounce back from hard times in our life. The attachment bond formed helps to shape an infants brain which can affect the adult relationships that person has when they grow up.

# data[].attributes.body
Children realize that a certain part of their parents' life is more important than they are like a job, money, or relationship. As a result children lack self-control and are very dependent.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Uninvolved or neglectful parenting is a considerably new parenting style that does away with hand-holding and guiding the children. It lets them learn by themselves.

Parents could be uninvolved in varying degrees. While most parents look after the basic needs such as food and shelter for their kids, some others neglect their children completely.

MomJunction gives you deeper insights into uninvolved or neglectful parenting and whether or not it is healthy for your kids.

What Is Neglectful Or Uninvolved Parenting Style?

A parenting style where the child does not get an adequate amount of emotional support, physical time of the parent, basic needs such as food, shelter, health care, childhood play, and academic support, can be termed as being neglectful. (1)

According to psychologist Diana Baumrind, neglectful parenting, or uninvolved parents have the least amount of involvement or response towards their children's needs. They just provide the most basic of facilities but no room or opportunity for recreational and developmental activities.

Uninvolved or neglectful parents make almost no demands from their kids. This means that they do not bother about their discipline.

Parents are emotionally detached from their children.

As an uninvolved or neglectful parent, you may be extremely dismissive, indifferent or even oblivious to your child's needs.

[ Read: Parenting Styles ]

The Characteristics Of Neglectful Or Uninvolved Parenting:

Before you chide yourself for being an uninvolved or neglectful parent, do remember that the characteristics are generic and you could have a few of them in common. This does not necessarily make you a neglectful parent.

1. Emotional Detachment

Such parents think that their duty is limited to providing food and shelter, and not other needs such as connecting with their children emotionally. They do not feel the need to ask their kids about their daily activities, or even take care of them when the children feel emotionally down. They avoid any confrontations.

2. Too Occupied With Their Problems:

Uninvolved parents feel the pressure of the world and are generally busy with their own issues. They are either caught up in work or occupied with self-grooming. Parents could be facing financial, emotional, or social problems, and may end up spending time in taking care of the crises. This leaves them with little or no time for their kids.

3. Influence Of Drugs Or Abusive Substances:

If parents are addicted to alcohol, drugs or other abusive substances then they fail in their responsibilities. They could even resort to violence. Parents with substance abuse affect a child's growth as they do not involve themselves with their children. In some cases, if parents lose their jobs, and come under financial constraints, then kids may have to drop out of school, or lack nutrition, among other things. (2)

4. Lack Of Supervision:

Neglectful parents are broadly of two types when it comes to supervision. They either do not supervise their kids at all or keep them grounded constantly. The first kinds are not inclined to supervise their kids. They do not bother about what the kids do, when they come home and go. They are barely aware of their kids' schedules and activities. They do not like to inculcate discipline, and a lack of it also does not affect them.

The second kind keep their kids grounded, under supervision, or at home, all the time. While they do not ask their kids about their daily activities, they will want to have them around. Such parents prevent any development that the kids may have outside of home.

5. Do Not Express Love:

These parents do not express their love towards their children. They often ignore them and there is no hugging, kissing or any other signs of love in the family. They show no warmth, which could leave the kids feeling bitter.

6. Lack Of Expectations:

In the absence of a father, men don't learn how to be strong and deal with situations tactfully. They are constantly looking for approval from people and cannot decide for things by themselves. They end up being unable to take decisions for themselves, and grow up to be weaker dads.

Girls become emotionally weak as they never had a strong support from anyone and fail in relationships in future. They yearn for constant love.

The unavailability of a mother hampers children's growth in terms of identity.

Mothers help their children build an identity. They let kids know how strong they can be and teach them the difference between right and wrong. As mothers are vastly involved in teaching kids life skills, their absence leaves children directionless.

You have taken your three-year-old to a park, or your toddler is busy in a play-date at home with other kids. Suddenly, he grabs the toy of another child and snatches it away from her.

You see but do not interfere. Your toddler may be too young to understand the difference between good and bad behavior, and this may be the age around which you need to start teaching him that.

Your young child comes home from school, and you know that it has been a long time since he had eaten something.

You will not offer him any healthy meal but expect him to reheat some stale food and eat.

Your child has a lot of homework and school projects that are too difficult and vast for your child to do all by himself.

You will not offer any assistance or guidance to your child, even if he seeks help from you.

Your needs and activities take up most of your time.

You spend the entire day working and do not get any time for yourself or to indulge in your recreational activities.

Your child is back home after having spent a long time at a friend's place.

You do not ask him where he has been or how long he was gone for.

Your child has been looking very dull and upset for a week now. You take notice but do not try to find out the reason.

You may have no idea what is going wrong with your child and would not even recognize the need for some urgent medical attention.

You do explain the importance of time and maintenance of a schedule.

The only time that you get to relax is when your child too has a lot of free time at hand. So, you let him loose, without worrying about what he does in his free time.

Your child may start scoring poorly at school, and it may negatively affect their overall studies, but you are not concerned about his performance.

In extreme cases, you may not even acknowledge the fact that your child is hungry or simply ignore his requests for some food.

These parents have absolutely no expectations with their kids. They are not bothered about the milestones or goals reached by their children. They do not help or motivate them in achieving their goals.

Effects Of Uninvolved Parenting On Children

As most fathers are generally earning for the family, they lose out on some very important time with their children. There could be other reasons for the lack of involvement besides work.

Examples Of Uninvolved Or Neglectful Parenting Style:

Here are a few examples of how an uninvolved parent would react under certain scenarios.

Scenario 1:

Scenario 2:

Scenario 3:

Scenario 4:

Scenario 5:

Scenario 6:

Why Neglectful Parenting Is Bad?

Children in an uninvolved parenting set-up cannot compete with their classmates and friends, feel abandoned and depressed. They lose their ability to make the right choices.

The constant feeling of being ignored or unwanted can leave the child with a confused feeling about self-worth. They get easily troubled or frustrated and are not very good at sticking to relationships.

Here are the consequences of neglectful or uninvolved parenting (3):

1. Feeling Unloved:

Uninvolved parenting leaves a child feeling unloved. This could have a huge impact on the child's overall psychological development.

2. Child Becomes Directionless:

As parents pay no attention, children cannot choose a right path for themselves. The child ends up being disillusioned and sometimes seeks others' advice for making decisions. A lack of understanding of the boundaries could make him anti-social.

3. Cannot Follow Rules or Instructions:

Children are not taught to follow rules, as there are none at home. This could wreak havoc in his life because he cannot stick to the guidelines at school while growing up and at work or in society as an adult.

4. Cannot Understand Other Parenting Styles:

Children who grow up in this parenting atmosphere may find other parenting styles weird, and could end up being uninvolved parents to their children. They may find it difficult to accept love and care from other adults in the family.

[ Read: Authoritarian Parenting ]

5. Substance Abuse:

Uninvolved parenting children are at a high risk of falling prey to substance abuse. In case the parents are themselves addicted to drugs, the chances of children becoming so are higher.

6. They Have To Take Care Of Themselves:

Such children are left to fend for themselves, which robs them of the essence of childhood. They grow up too quickly and older siblings end up taking care of the younger ones. They become socially aloof, and find it difficult to respond and react to others and may turn to be extreme introverts.

7. Heightened Emotions:

Children find it difficult to control their emotions. They have a heightened sense of fear, anxiety and stress as they never get the emotional support of their parents to tide over such feelings.

8. Brain Functioning Is Hampered:

Neglect can severely alter the way a child's brain works. It leads to depression and an increased risk of memory impairment. It could also lead to dissociative disorders. Some researchers say that neglect is linked to panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). (4)

9. Lack Of Personality Development:

As there is no direction or adult supervision, children cannot develop their personality like those in other forms of parenting do. They simply flow with the tide.

Develop communication with your kids. Even if you do not want to involve yourself completely, take some time out and start slow.

See if they are keeping in their best health. Attend to them if you feel that they are very quiet or not as active as usual.

Toxic parenting is a higher or worse form of neglectful parenting. Toxic parents are known to treat their kids as nothing but objects. They damage a child's cognitive, growth, and overall development. They are overtly abusive and manipulative.

Toxic parenting is extreme and sees no bond between parents and children.

Help them take decisions even if you do not wish to suggest anything. Just listen to them. You don't always have to give a solution.

If you are very busy with something, let them know when you can attend to them.

Do seek medical help if you think you might need it.

Why Do Parents Adopt Neglectful Or Uninvolved Style Of Parenting?

Researchers attribute uninvolved parenting to several reasons such as financial status, educational background, cultural aspects, and traditional practices. Here are a few other important reasons for parents to adopt this style:

1. They Suffered The Same:

Parents could be carrying forward the parenting style of their parents. As they have faced a similar scenario in their childhood, they do not feel the need to connect to their children.

This turns into a vicious circle and can become extremely difficult to come out unless some conscious effort is made by them.

2. Life Style:

Some parents may have a lifestyle that keeps them totally occupied and gives them no time for anyone in the family, including their spouses. Such parents do not intentionally avoid their kids, but are forced to.

3. Personality Issues:

Some individuals have the urge to stand out in the crowd. This individuality forces them to turn towards themselves and not care for anyone else. These kinds of people often take care of themselves and neglect everything else.

[ Read: Holistic Parenting ]

4. Good Intentions:

Some parents adopt this kind of parenting style so that their children can toughen up and learn to be dependent on none. What they do not realize is that they are pushing their children to an extreme.

4. Lack Of Understanding:

A lack of understanding of responsibilities can also trigger this kind of parenting. When parents are unable to communicate with their children well or are unable to understand their needs, they become neglectful.

Tips To Come Out Of Neglectful Parenting:

Though it could be difficult for parents to adapt to another parenting style, they must understand that they have to take charge. Here are some ways in which you can make changes in your parenting style.

Toxic Parenting:

[ Read: Authoritative Parenting ]

While parenting can be a task to handle, remember that it is your duty to take care of your children. Come out of this negative parenting style to provide a cordial family atmosphere for your child to grow.

What do you think is the best parenting style to follow? Let us know in the comment section.

Recommended Articles:

The following two tabs change content below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Uninvolved Parenting Style - Traits And Effects on Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Uninvolved or neglectful parenting is a considerably new parenting style that does away with hand-holding and guiding the children. It lets them learn by themselves. Parents could be uninvolved in varying degrees. While most parents look after the basic needs such as food and shelter for their kids, some others neglect their children completely.

# data[].attributes.body
The "Do it my way or else." style of parenting. Most children who live under this parenting style experience poor initiative, low self esteem, and lack proper social skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Parenting is tricky. You need to strike a balance between being too strict and too lenient with the child.

Your parenting style depends on how you are balancing it - whether you are very strict, very lenient or maintaining them finely.

In this post, MomJunction tells you about one of the parenting styles - authoritarian parenting, its characteristics, and effects on the children.

What Is Authoritarian Parenting?

Authoritarian parenting is characterized by high demandingness (expectations) and low responsiveness (meeting the child's wants and interests). It focuses on obedience, discipline and control, and provides little nurturance to the child.

This style is also called autocratic parenting. It is one of the three parenting styles originally propounded by developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind in the 1960s ( 1). The other two styles are authoritative and permissive. You can know more about them here and here respectively.

Authoritarian parents focus on authority. They punish the child for failures while ignoring the kid's achievements. They expect the child to obey them by all means. An authoritarian parent typically believes, "You (the child) need to listen to me because I said so."

You can understand the style better once you know its characteristics. Let's see them in the next section.

[ Read: Authoritative Parenting Style ]

Characteristics Of Authoritarian Parents

The two essential aspects of authoritarian parents are high demandingness and less responsiveness. Most of the other characteristics fall into these two traits ( 2) ( 3):

High demandingness:

Authoritative parents have a long list of demands right from discipline and rules to achievements in life. They:

Impose strict rules on children: Authoritarian parents have several rules but do not explain the rationale behind them. The children are expected to follow the rules everywhere, whether it's at home or outside, without asking any questions.

Have a low tolerance for indiscipline and misbehavior: Authoritarian parents do not stand misconduct. They expect their children to behave themselves always.

Shame their children for indiscipline: Authoritarian parents use shame as a strategy and force their children to follow the rules. These parents believe that shaming them will encourage them to follow the rules.

Resort to punishments: They use punitive punishments such as spanking and abusing the child. Instead of seeing reason, they react impulsively when their children do not follow the rules.

Don't offer choices to children: Authoritarian parents' approach to discipline is strictly one way. They don't discuss the rules with their children before implementing them. The kids are rarely allowed to make a choice.

Show no feelings or empathy: Authoritarian parents show no feelings for their children and do not empathize with them. They do not entertain questions or make an effort to understand the child's emotions.

Lack trust in their children: Authoritarian parents expect high standards from their children. They do not allow them the freedom to put up their best behavior and make choices. Instead of letting their children make choices, the parents ensure that the kids follow the instructions so that they do not commit mistakes.

Do not support their children: Their criticism is not constructive. They do not appreciate the child's effort nor help them do it better next time. They criticize them for failures.

Do not appreciate the children's achievements: Even when their children do well in school, they do not recognize or encourage them. They just raise their expectations.

Are emotionally and physically distant: They hardly provide love and warmth to their children. They do not nurture their children either emotionally or physically.

[ Read: Uninvolved Parenting Effects On Children ]

Low responsiveness:

The parents expect the child to perform, but they do not provide them with the necessary support. They are not there emotionally if the child fails nor appreciate when the child succeeds. They:

Let's now see some examples to understand an authoritarian parent's mindset.

Authoritarian Parenting Examples

Example 1:

A child steals chocolate from the grocery store. When he goes home, the parents get to know about it. They spank him and punish him by not providing dinner. The parents do not try to understand why he stole the chocolate or explain why stealing is a wrong thing.

[ Read: Holistic Parenting Tips ]

Low self-esteem: Regular criticisms and reminders about how the child ought to and ought not to behave make the child doubt their worth and potential. And when the children's achievements are not appreciated, they grow up with low self-esteem.

Poor social skills: Low esteem results in poor social skills as the child has difficulty interacting with people in social settings. They find it hard to express their feelings.

Indecisiveness: Children do not learn to think independently and cannot make decisions. They always wait for guidance from someone and are not proactive. They want others to decide for them.

Lack self-discipline: The children of authoritarian parents follow the rules well, but they lack self-discipline. Since they are not encouraged to explore and think independently, they never learn to set limits and standards for themselves. This leads to indiscipline when there is no one to monitor.

Discipline: Authoritarian parents emphasize on discipline, rules, and consequences. Hence, the child knows that if they break the rules, they have to bear the consequences. This trains the children to behave well and be disciplined.

A safe environment: Authoritarian parenting focuses on the safety of the children. This protects the children from bad company and wrong decisions.

Clarity about goals: Authoritarian parents are structured. They have plans, rules, and instructions for everything and their children know what to do to reach their goals.

Zeal to do things the right way: The children know about the consequences of failure. As they get used to doing things right it becomes a habit and drives them to success.

Responsibility: Children become used to following the rules and they never think about doing 'wrong' things. The habit becomes so strong that it continues through their adult life.

Highly insecure: The emotional needs of children are not met as the parents hardly provide love and warmth to their children. This makes the kids insecure.

Rigid environment suppresses the child: The environment at home is strict and may create unpleasantness in the child. Such a situation is not conducive for the child to grow and thrive.

Lack of creativity: The children do not experiment out of their purview as they are afraid that they might go wrong. The fear inhibits their creativity.

Cannot accept failure: Fear and anxiety drive them to perform due to parental pressure. They fear failures and cannot see them as a learning opportunity.

Behavioral problems: Harshness in the form of corporal punishments and control leads to negative behavior in children. They grow up internalizing violent behaviors.

Children become hostile: Children of authoritarian parents are forced to do things they do not like. As a result, they turn out to be aggressive when they reach their adolescence. They have a hard time controlling their anger and resentment.

Make changes gradually: Begin with minor changes in your child-rearing style by relaxing the rules and consequences. Drastic changes can affect your child emotionally and they may not get used to the shift in the style.

Poor academic performance: Studies reveal that authoritarian parenting is linked to poor academic performance. Children learn better from positive and constructive feedback than negative criticism.

Have patience: Give yourself and your child the time to fall into a safe parenting zone. It will not happen overnight. Don't lose your cool if things don't work out. Stay calm and have patience. Your positive attitude can encourage your child to learn quickly.

Talk, discuss, and listen to your child: Keep your communication open with your child. Interact with your child about their day at school, what they liked doing in school etc., to build an emotional connection with them.

Encourage your child to learn from mistakes: Give constructive feedback. Instead of punishing your child, help them understand where they went wrong so that they can do well the next time.

Depression and obesity: A study (7) has found that children under authoritarian parenting are more likely to have depressive symptoms than the children of other parenting styles. Another study (8) has observed that the sons of authoritarian mothers are likely to have a high body mass index.

Have fun while parenting: Parenting is not meant to be serious all the time.

Example 2:

When the teenage kid asks his dad, "Why should I come back home by 8pm," the authoritarian parent says, "Because I am saying and you should come back, that's it."

Example 3:

A family is having a get-together. While having dinner, a child accidentally drops a fork. His dad immediately yells and insults the child in front of everybody.

When a parent is this strict, the impact on the child is bound to be negative. Let's see how it affects a child.

Effects Of Authoritarian Parenting On A Child

The consequences of authoritarian parenting are mostly negative than positive. Here are some of the negative effects ( 4) ( 5) ( 6):

There are several adverse effects of authoritarian parenting but there are a few positive ones too.

Benefits Of Authoritarian Parenting

Despite being a strict parenting style, authoritarian parenting has its advantages. Here's how it helps:

In spite of its positives, authoritarian parenting is not something psychologists recommend because authoritative parenting provides all these benefits minus the adverse effects.

Authoritarian Vs. Authoritative Parenting Styles

Experts believe that authoritarian parenting affects the child negatively while authoritative parenting is healthy and has a positive impact on the children.

Here are the differences between the two:

Authoritarian Parenting

Authoritative Parenting

High on demandingness and low on responsiveness

High on demandingness and high on responsiveness

Parents don't discuss the rules with children. They enforce rules and punish the children when they don't follow them

Parents discuss the rules and take feedback from children. Enforce rules and consequences but explain the rationale behind them

Resistance to rules is met with punishment

Resistance to rules is sorted out through discussion

Do not allow the child to be independent

Encourage the child to think and live independently.

Use punitive methods for punishments

Provide love, warmth, and support

Have high expectations for children

Have reasonable expectations that are appropriate to the child's age

Children of authoritarian parents are unhappy and have behavioral problems

Children of authoritative parents are happy, successful, and resourceful

Parents do not use the same style of parenting throughout their lives; it may change depending on the child's age and requirements at that age.

[ Read: Signs of Bad Parenting ]

How To Change From Authoritarian To Authoritative Parenting?

Every child is unique, and each one requires a different parenting style. But if you find yourself using authoritarian approach and want to shift to authoritative style, here is how you can do that:

Encourage self-discipline in your child to boost their self-esteem and self-motivation.

Explain the importance and value of following rules and guide them in the right direction. Be clear about your expectations and tell them how they can reach them.

View a broken rule as a life lesson rather than disobedience. Help them realize that failure is a stepping stone to success.

Have fun with your child, play with them, and bond with them through interaction.

Adopt a friendly approach and nurture your child.

A strict authoritarian approach may not help in raising a healthy child. Your style needs to be flexible enough to change with the changing circumstances and the age of your child. A positive parenting approach makes your children feel loved and respected. It gives them the confidence to do things, go out and meet people and achieve goals without fear of failure.

[ Read: Parenting Problems And Solutions ]

What is your style of parenting? Let us know in the comments section below.

Recommended Articles:

The following two tabs change content below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Authoritarian Parenting: Its Characteristics And Effects On Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Parenting is tricky. You need to strike a balance between being too strict and too lenient with the child. Your parenting style depends on how you are balancing it - whether you are very strict, very lenient or maintaining them finely.

# data[].attributes.body
There are 4 types of parenting:
-Authoritarian: a strict parent
-Authoritative: encourages the child to be independent, but still limits and controls behavior
-Neglectful: lack of parental involvement in a child's life
-Permissive: few limits on the child's behavior

# data[].attributes.body
A collaborative style of parenting. A give-and-take relationship is allowed. Children are aware of their social surroundings, independent, and responsible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Authoritative parenting is characterized by reasonable demands and high responsiveness. While authoritative parents might have high expectations for their children, they also give their kids the resources and support they need to succeed. Parents who exhibit this style listen to their kids and provide love and warmth in addition to limits and fair discipline.

Traditionally, the authoritative parenting style has been identified as the most effective. It is argued that kids raised by authoritative parents tend to have strong self-regulation skills, self-confidence, and happier attitudes. However, more recent research suggests that parents should also be flexible based on their personal goals and the unique behaviors of each child.

The authoritative parenting style is sometimes referred to as "democratic." It involves a child-centric approach in which parents hold high expectations for their children.

According to Baumrind, authoritative parents share some common characteristics, including:

They listen to their children.

They encourage independence.

They place limits, consequences, and expectations on their children's behavior.

They express warmth and nurturance.

They allow their children to express opinions.

They encourage their children to discuss options.

They administer fair and consistent discipline.

People with authoritative parenting styles want their children to utilize reasoning and work independently, but their expectations are also high. When children break the rules, they are disciplined in a fair and consistent manner.

These parents also tend to be flexible. If there are extenuating circumstances, they will allow the child to explain what happened and adjust their response accordingly. They offer consistent discipline but in a way that is fair and takes into account all of the variables, including the child's behavior and the situation.

In the past, child development experts influenced by Baumrind's work generally identified the authoritative parenting style as the best approach to parenting. Research has repeatedly shown that children raised by authoritative parents tend to be more capable, happy, and successful.

According to Baumrind, children of authoritative parents:

Tend to have happier dispositions

Have good emotional control and regulation

Develop good social skills

Are self-confident about their abilities to learn new skills

Authoritative parents act as role models and exhibit the same behaviors they expect from their children. Because of this, the kids are more likely to internalize these behaviors and exhibit them as well. Consistent rules and discipline also allow children to know what to expect.

The parents tend to exhibit good emotional understanding and control. Their children also learn to manage their emotions and learn to understand others as well.

Authoritative parents also allow children to act independently. This teaches kids that they are capable of accomplishing things on their own, helping to foster strong self-esteem and self-confidence.

These characteristics can be contrasted with the authoritarian parenting style. This style is characterized by exceedingly high expectations with little warmth and guidance.

For example, imagine a situation where two young boys steal candy from the grocery store. One boy has authoritative parents, so when he finally arrives home, he receives a fair punishment that fits the nature of the transgression. He is grounded for two weeks and must return the candy and apologize to the store owner. His parents talk to him about why stealing is wrong, but are supportive and encourage him not to engage in such behavior again.

The other boy has authoritarian parents, so when he arrives home, he is yelled at by both parents. His father spanks him and orders him to spend the rest of the night in his room without dinner. The child's parents offer little support or love and no feedback or guidance about why the theft was wrong.

Some parents are naturally more authoritative than authoritarian or permissive. However, this doesn't mean that you can't adopt a more authoritative style, even if it's not your default. It may mean that you will have to remain mindful of your actions while you work to develop these habits.

It might help to view this parenting style as a balance between discipline, emotional control, and allowing independence. Try not to be too harsh nor too lenient. You can start by letting your child make more decisions, but also have regular discussions about these decisions. With time, attention, and flexibility to your child's needs, this parenting method will become more natural.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Do You Have an Authoritative Parenting Style?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Authoritative parenting is characterized by reasonable demands and high responsiveness. While authoritative parents might have high expectations for their children, they also give their kids the resources and support they need to succeed. Parents who exhibit this style listen to their kids and provide love and warmth in addition to limits and fair discipline.

# data[].attributes.body
Harlow called his experiment The Wire Mother Experiment. In this experiment, he separated a baby monkey from their mother and observe the baby monkey towards two artificial "mothers".

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Harry Harlow was an American psychologist who is best-remembered for his series of controversial and often outrageously cruel experiments with rhesus monkeys. In order to study the effects of maternal separation and social isolation, Harlow placed infant monkeys in isolated chambers.

Some variations of the experiments involved placing the monkeys with surrogate mothers made of either wire or cloth to see which the young monkeys preferred. In other instances, the monkeys were raised in total isolation for as long as 24 months, leading to profound and lasting emotional disturbances.

Best known for his social isolation experiments with rhesus monkeys, Harlow's research contributed a great to our understanding of the importance of caregiving, affection, and social relationships early in life. In one review of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, Harlow was listed as the 26th most frequently cited psychologist.

Harry Harlow was born on October 31, 1905, in Fairfield, Iowa. He died on December 6, 1981, in Tucson, Arizona.

Harry Harlow (born Harry Israel) grew up in Iowa and later went on to attend Reed College in Portland, Oregon for one year. After passing a special aptitude test, he enrolled at Stanford University where he started out as an English major. His grades were so bad that after one semester he switched to the study of psychology.

While at Stanford, Harlow studied with psychologist Lewis Terman who had developed the Stanford-Binet intelligence test. In 1930, he earned his Ph.D. in Psychology and later changed his last name from Israel to Harlow.

After graduating from Stanford, Harlow was offered a position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at the school, he established the pioneering Primate Laboratory where he would perform his controversial social isolation experiments. Harlow's classic series of experiments were conducted between 1957 and 1963 and involved separating young rhesus monkeys from their mothers shortly after birth. The infant monkeys were instead raised by surrogate wire monkey mothers.

In one version of the experiment, one of the "mothers" was made entirely from the wire while the other was covered with a soft cloth. Harlow found that regardless of whether or not the cloth covered mother provided food, the infant monkeys would cling to her for comfort. On the other hand, the monkeys would only select the wire mother when she provided food.

Harlow's presented his results at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in 1958 and also reported his findings in his classic article entitled "The Nature of Love" in the journal American Psychologist.

Later experiments looked at social isolation by raising rhesus monkeys either in total or partial isolation. Harlow and his students found that such isolation led to a variety of negative outcomes including severe psychological disturbances and even death.

Harlow's experiments were shocking and controversial. Most would be considered unethical by today's standards. However, his research played an important role in shaping our understanding of child development. Prevailing thought during Harlow's time suggested that paying attention to young children would "spoil" them and that affection should be limited. Harlow's work instead demonstrated the absolute importance of developing safe, secure, and supportive emotional bonds with caregivers during early childhood.

Many experts at the time also believed that feeding was the primary force between the mother-and-child bonds. Harlow's work suggested that while feedings are important, it is the physical closeness and contact that provides the comfort and security that a child needs for normal development. Harlow's work along with that of other researchers including psychologist John Bowlby and pediatrician Benjamin Spock helped spark a revolution in our approach to child care and child rearing.

Harlow, H. F. The Effect of Large Cortical Lesions on Learned Behavior in Monkeys. Science. 1950.

Harlow, H. F. Biological and Biochemical Bases of Behavior. University of Wisconsin Press. 1958.

Harlow, H. F., et al. The Sad Ones: Studies in Depression. Psychology Today 4(12), 61-63. 1971.

Harlow, H. F. A Variable-Temperature Surrogate Mother for Studying Attachment in Infant Monkeys. Behavior Research Methods 5(3), 269-272. 1973.

Harlow, H. F. Lust, Latency, and Love: Simian Secrets of Successful Sex. Journal of Sex Research 11(2), 79-90. 1975.

Harlow, H. F. The Nature of Love. American Psychologist, 13, 673-685. 1958.

Blum, D. Love at Goon Park. New York: Perseus Publishing. 2002.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Harry Harlow Influenced What We Know About Social Isolation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Harry Harlow was an American psychologist who is best-remembered for his series of controversial and often outrageously cruel experiments with rhesus monkeys. In order to study the effects of maternal separation and social isolation, Harlow placed infant monkeys in isolated chambers.

# data[].attributes.body
Conducted a study that demonstrates the essential importance of warm contact.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Attachment theory is a lifespan model of human development emphasizing the central role of caregivers (attachment figures) who provide a sense of safety and security.

Attachment theory hypothesizes that early caregiver relationships establish social-emotional developmental foundations, but change remains possible across the lifespan due to interpersonal relationships during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Attachment can be defined as a deep and enduring emotional bond between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure.

Bowlby (1988) contended that the drive for proximity arises from an interconnected set of behavioral systems that collectively shape behavior. These include the attachment, caregiving, and exploratory behavioral systems.

Attachment Behavioral System

The attachment behavioral system concerns the tendency of an individual to seek security during times of stress (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2003), which can be internal (i.e., hunger, fatigue, illness) or from external features of the environment, such as threatening stimuli (Bowlby, 1988).

The more extreme the stress, the more intense the attachment system activation. The attachment system is most readily activated during the first five years of life, a period characterized by high levels of vulnerability and dependence.

Once the attachment system is activated, the infant is motivated to seek proximity to significant others (attachment figures) to protect themselves from physical or emotional harm (Bowlby, 1969).

If this goal is achieved, the infant develops feelings of safety and security, and their attachment system becomes deactivated. The infant will call upon a range of attachment behaviors with the goal of attaining proximity to the attachment figure.

Bowlby (1988) suggests the attachment behavioral system remains important throughout life and will also motivate adults to seek proximity in times of stress during adulthood.

Caregiving System

The attachment figure is viewed as a 'safe haven', and their role is to correspondingly alter their level of responsiveness to deactivate the infant's attachment system by promoting feelings of security.

George and Solomon (1996) call this reciprocal response of the attachment figure to the infant's attachment system the 'caregiving' system.

Bowlby (1969) posits that the caregiving system exists to provide protection and support to others in need of assistance, through providing sensitive and responsive care.

The caregiving system is activated when an individual expresses a need for support or their attachment system is activated, and is deactivated when the care recipient appears to be in a secure state (Shaver & Mikulincer, 2006).

Once activated, the caregiver may utilize a variety of behavioral strategies intended to improve the other person's well-being, re-establishing their felt security, and facilitating their coping efforts.

Caregiving strategies include validating a person's worries, providing physical closeness and affection, and communicating that a person is loved and valued (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007).

In addition to attachment behaviors, the caregiving system can support exploratory behaviors (Feeney, 2004).

The Importance of Early Emotional Bonds

Attachment behavior in adults toward the child includes responding sensitively and appropriately to the child's needs. Such behavior appears universal across cultures.

Attachments are most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby's signals, not the person they spent more time with. Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness.

Reciprocity is the mutual, two-way interaction between an infant and caregiver, where both respond to each other's signals, such as when a baby's smile evokes a smile in return. This form of interactional synchrony is vital for a child's development, establishing their foundational trust and shaping future relationships and learning.

Exploratory Behavioral System

When infants feel safe and secure, and their attachment system is deactivated, their energy can be devoted to what Bowlby (1969) refers to as the exploratory behavioral system.

The exploratory behavioral system refers to behaviors that drive the organism to interact with the environment in a bid to inspect it, manipulate it, and master it (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007).

According to Bowlby (1969), the exploratory system is activated by novelty and is terminated when a person exhibits a sense of competence and familiarity with their environment. From this perspective, attachment figures can also be seen as a 'secure base' which infants use to explore their social world (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978).

The more assured the infant is in the availability of their attachment figure in times of stress, the more likely they will interact with others and their environment. Thus attachment, far from interfering with exploration, is viewed as nurturing exploration.

Caregivers who provide a secure base allow infants to become autonomous, inquisitive, and experimental. Children who lack a secure base find their attachment system keeps overriding their attempts to be autonomous and to competently interact with their social environment.

This, in turn, can impair and harm a child's social, emotional, and cognitive development (Bowlby, 1980). Of course, not all attachment figures become a secure base, and this function is based on the responsiveness of their caregiver towards the infant (Ainsworth & Wittig, 1969).

Ainsworth et al. proposed the interconnecting between attachment and exploratory systems are adaptive as they ensure a balance between protection and exploration of the social and physical environment.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation

Mary Ainsworth and her colleagues discovered three major patterns that infants attach to their primary caregivers ("mother figures") from their Strange Situation Procedure (Ainsworth et al., 1978).

The study recruited four different samples of infants at around one year of age, and engaged them in the Strange Situation procedure, roughly described below:

An infant was put into an unfamiliar environment with his or her mother and was free to explore the environment; a stranger entered the room and gradually approached the infant; the mother then left the room, returning after the infant spent some time alone with the stranger.

Ainsworth and colleagues observed how comfortable each infant was physically farther away from the mother in an unfamiliar environment, how each infant interacted with the stranger, and how each infant greeted the mother upon her return.

Based on the observations, they sorted the infants into three groups: secure, anxious, and avoidant.

Attachment Styles

Attachment styles refer to the particular way in which an individual relates to other people. The style of attachment is formed at the very beginning of life, and once established, it is a style that stays with you and plays out today in how you relate in intimate relationships and in how you parent your children.

The concept involves one's confidence in the availability of the attachment figure for use as a secure base from which one can freely explore the world when not in distress and a safe haven from which one can seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress.

Secure Attachment

Bowlby (1988) described secure attachment as the capacity to connect well and securely in relationships with others while also having the capacity for autonomous action as situationally appropriate.

Secure attachment is characterized by trust, an adaptive response to being abandoned, and the belief that one is worthy of love.

An infant with a secure attachment is characterized as actively seeking and maintaining proximity with the mother, especially during the reunion episode. The infant may or may not be friendly with the stranger, but always shows more interest in interacting with the mother.

Additionally, during the same situation, the infant tended to be slightly distressed during separation from the mother, but the infant rarely cried.

Ainsworth and colleagues interpreted infants who were securely attached to their mothers, showed less anxiousness and more positive attitudes toward the relationship, and were likely because they believed in their mothers' responsiveness towards their needs.

Anxious (Ambivalent) Attachment

Anxious attachment (also called ambivalent) relationships are characterized by a concern that others will not reciprocate one's desire for intimacy. This is

caused when an infant learns that their caregiver or parent is unreliable and does not consistently provide responsive care towards their needs.

An anxiously attached infant is characterized as being somewhat ambivalent (and resistant) to the mother. The infant often demonstrated signs of resisting interactions with the mother, especially during the strange situation reunion episode.

However, once contact with the mother was gained, the infant also showed strong intentions to maintain such contact. Overall, ambivalent infants often displayed maladaptive behaviors throughout the Strange Situation.

Ainsworth and colleagues found ambivalent infants to be anxious and unconfident about their mothers' responsiveness, and their mothers were observed to lack "the fine sense of timing" in responding to the infants' needs.

As adults, those with an anxious preoccupied attachment style are overly concerned with the uncertainty of a relationship. They hold a negative working model of self and a positive working model of others.

Avoidant Attachment

Children with avoidant attachment styles tend to avoid interaction with the caregiver, and show no distress during separation. This may be because the parent has ignored attempts to be intimate, and the child may internalize the belief that they cannot depend on this or any other relationship.

An infant with an avoidant attachment was characterized as displaying little to no tendency to seek proximity with the mother.

The infant often showed no distress during separation from the mother, interacted with the stranger similarly to how he or she would interact with the mother, and showed slight signs of avoidance (turning away, avoiding eye contact, etc.) when reunited with the mother.

Ainsworth and colleagues interpreted infants' avoidance behaviors as a defensive mechanism against the mothers' own rejecting behaviors, such as being uncomfortable with physical contact or being more easily angered by the infants.

Disorganized (Fearful) Attachment

Main and Solomon (1986) discovered that a sizable proportion of infants did not fit into secure, anxious, or avoidant, based on their behaviors in the Strange Situation experiment. They categorized these infants as having a disorganized attachment type.

Disorganized attachment is classified by children who display sequences of behaviors that lack readily observable goals or intentions, including obviously contradictory behaviors or stilling/freezing of movements.

Main and Solomon found that the parents of disorganized infants often had unresolved attachment-related traumas, which caused the parents to display either frightened or frightening behaviors, resulting in the disorganized infants being confused or forcing them to rely on someone they were afraid of at the same time.

Stages of Attachment

Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) investigated if attachment develops through a series of stages by studying 60 babies at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of life (this is known as a longitudinal study).

The children were all studied in their own homes, and a regular pattern was identified in the development of attachment.

The babies were visited monthly for approximately one year, their interactions with their carers were observed, and carers were interviewed.

A diary was kept by the mother to examine the evidence for the development of attachment. Three measures were recorded:

* Stranger Anxiety - response to arrival of a stranger.

* Separation Anxiety - distress level when separated from carer, degree of comfort needed on return.

* Social Referencing - degree that child looks at carer to check how they should respond to something new (secure base).

They discovered that baby's attachments develop in the following sequence:

Very young infants are asocial in that many kinds of stimuli, both social and non-social, produce a favorable reaction, such as a smile.

Indiscriminate Attachments (6 weeks to 7 months)

Infants indiscriminately enjoy human company; most babies respond equally to any caregiver. They get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them.

From 3 months, infants smile more at familiar faces and can be easily comfortable by a regular caregiver.

Specific Attachment (7 - 9 months)

Special preference for a single attachment figure. The baby looks to particular people for security, comfort, and protection. It shows fear of strangers (stranger fear) and unhappiness when separated from a special person ( separation anxiety).

Some babies show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more frequently and intensely than others; nevertheless, they are seen as evidence that the baby has formed an attachment. This usually develops at one year of age.

Multiple Attachment (10 months and onwards)

Many of the babies from the Schaffer and Emerson study had multiple attachments by 10 months old, including attachments to mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, and neighbors.

The baby becomes increasingly independent and forms several attachments. By 18 months, the majority of infants have formed multiple attachments.

The multiple attachments formed by most infants vary in their strength and importance to the infant. Attachments are often structured in a hierarchy, whereby an infant may have formed three attachments, but one may be stronger than the other two, and one may be the weakest.

The results of the study indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby's signals, not the person they spent more time with. Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness.

Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and, interacted with their child. Infants who were weakly attached had mothers who failed to interact.

The Lasting Impact of Early Attachment

According to Bowlby's theory (1988), when we form our primary attachment, we also make a mental representation of what a relationship is (internal working model), which we then use for all other relationships in the future i.e., friendships, working, and romantic relationships.

The different attachment styles may be viewed as internal working models of "relationships" that evolved from event experiences (Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985).

This would suggest that early interactions with caregivers could not only shape how an infant understood and behaved in relationships (as exemplified by infant attachment styles), but that such impact could be carried forward into adult attachment.

According to Bowlby (1969) later relationships are likely to be a continuation of early attachment styles (secure and insecure) because the behavior of the infant's primary attachment figure promotes an internal working model of relationships which leads the infant to expect the same in later relationships.

In other words, there will be continuity between early attachment experiences and later relationships. This is known as the continuity hypothesis.

In humans, attachment does not conclude in infancy, or even childhood, but instead is active throughout the lifespan, with individuals gaining comfort from both physical and mental representations of significant others (Bowlby, 1969).

It is through an individual's internal working model that childhood patterns of attachment are carried forward across the life cycle into adolescence and adulthood.

The notion of security is still important; however, the growing emergence of autonomy is also significant as the attachment system in adults is less likely to be activated due to them being able to tolerate higher levels of distress compared to children.

During adulthood, new attachment bonds are formed which may become a significant source of support during periods of distress, or during periods of goal achievement and exploration.

Researchers have proposed that working models are interconnected within a complex hierarchical structure (Bowlby, 1980; Bretherton, 1985, 1990; Collins & Read, 1994; Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985).

For example, the highest level model comprises beliefs and expectations across all types of relationship, and lower level models hold general rules about specific relations, such as romantic or parental, underpinned by models specific to events within a relationship with a single person.

The existence of multiple mental models is supported by evidence which demonstrates considerable within-person variability in the expectations and beliefs that people hold about the self and others (Baldwin & Fehr, 1995).

Furthermore, although specific models of attachment relationships are positively associated with more overarching general working models, the correlations are small to moderate (less than .40), indicating that they comprised distinct beliefs regarding the self and significant others (Cozzarelli, Hoekstra, & Bylsma, 2000).

Likely, general mental models indicate a typical appraisal of the self and others across relationships, and relationship-specific beliefs about the self and one's partner would plausibly represent only a part of these generalized beliefs.

Key Takeaways

Attachment is defined as a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings" (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194), and may be considered interchangeable with concepts such as "affectional bond" and "emotional bond."

Attachment is characterized by specific behaviors in children, such as seeking proximity to the attachment figure when upset or threatened (Bowlby, 1969).

Attachment theory explains how the parent-child relationship emerges and influences subsequent development.

A person's first attachment is often established with the primary caregiver during infancy. However, it must be noted that attachment is not unique to infant-caregiver relationships but may also be present in other social relationships.

Attachments of various kinds are formed through the repeated act of "attachment behaviors" or "attachment transactions," a continuing process of seeking and maintaining a certain level of proximity to another specified individual (Bowlby, 1969).

Because caregivers vary in sensitivity and responsiveness, not all infants attach to caregivers in the same way.

References

Ainsworth, M. D. S., & Bell, S. M. (1970). Attachment, exploration, and separation: Illustrated by the behavior of one-year-olds in a strange situation. Child Development, 41, 49-67.

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1973). The development of infant-mother attachment. In B. Cardwell & H. Ricciuti (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 3, pp. 1-94) Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1991). Attachments and other affectional bonds across the life cycle. In C . M. Parkes, J. Stevenson-Hinde, & P. Marris (Eds.), Attachment across the life cycle (pp. 33-51). London: Routledge.

Ainsworth. M. D. S., & Wittig, B. A. (1969) Attachment and exploratory behaviour of one-year-olds in a strange situation. In: B. M. Foss (Ed.) Determinants of infant behaviour, IV. London: Methuen, p. 111-136.

Bowlby, J. (1958). The nature of the childs tie to his mother. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 39, 350-371.

Bowlby J. (1969). Attachment. Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Loss. New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J., and Robertson, J. (1952). A two-year-old goes to the hospital. Proceedings
of the Royal Society of Medicine, 46, 425-427.

Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss, Vol. 2: Separation. New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss, Vol. 3: Loss, sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.

Dollard, J. & Miller, N.E. (1950). Personality and psychotherapy. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Feeney, B. C. (2004). A secure base: responsive support of goal strivings and exploration in adult intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(5), 631.

George, C., & Solomon, J. (1996). Representational models of relationships: Links between caregiving and attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 17(3), 198-216.

Harlow, H. F. & Zimmermann, R. R. (1958). The development of affective responsiveness in infant monkeys. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 102, 501 -509.

Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2003). The attachment behavioral system in adulthood: Activation, psychodynamics, and interpersonal processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 53-152.

Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. New York: Guilford Press.

Prior, V., & Glaser, D. (2006). Understanding attachment and attachment disorders: Theory, evidence and practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Schaffer, H. R., & Emerson, P. E. (1964). The development of social attachments in infancy. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1-77.

Shaver, P. R., & Mikulincer, M. (2006). Attachment theory, individual psychodynamics, and relationship functioning. The Cambridge handbook of personal relationships, 251-271.

Van Ijzendoorn, M. H., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2008). Cross-cultural patterns of attachment: Universal and contextual dimensions. In J. Cassidy & P. Shaver (Eds) Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research and Clinical Applications (pp. 880-905). New York: Guildford Press.

FAQs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Attachment Theory In Psychology Explained

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Attachment can be defined as a deep and enduring emotional bond between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure.