Difficulty: Intermediate | Prerequisites: Psychodynamic Foundations (tripartite model, Bowlby's 44 Thieves study).
Once you understand Bowlby's basic claims about attachment and deprivation, the next step is the debates they triggered. Is attachment driven by feeding or by emotional comfort? Does deprivation always cause lasting damage? Must the primary caregiver be the mother? These questions carry social, ethical, and economic implications that regularly appear on exams. This set of notes covers the arguments on both sides.
The feeding debate asks whether babies bond through being fed or through emotional contact (Harlow's monkeys suggest comfort matters more). The deprivation debate weighs evidence that early separation causes lasting harm against evidence that many children recover. The parenting debate challenges the assumption that only mothers can be primary caregivers, with research showing fathers are equally capable.
Deprivation
The loss of an attachment bond that has already formed. Distinguished from privation, where a bond never formed at all.
Privation
The failure to form any attachment bond in the first place. Generally considered more damaging than deprivation.
Monotropy
Bowlby's idea that a child has one primary attachment figure whose bond is uniquely important for development.
Think of it as: one caregiver matters most, above all others.
Harlow's monkeys
Harry Harlow's experiments with rhesus monkeys, in which infant monkeys preferred a soft, cloth-covered "mother" over a wire one that provided food. Key evidence against the feeding explanation of attachment.
Oestrogen
A hormone linked to caregiving behaviours, present in higher levels in women. Sometimes cited in the debate over whether mothers are biologically better suited to caregiving.
Oxytocin
Sometimes called the "bonding hormone." Released during breastfeeding and early social bonding. Also released when people fall in love.
Tags: deprivation, privation, monotropy, Harlow, contact comfort, feeding debate, maternal deprivation hypothesis, oestrogen, oxytocin, parental roles
Arguments for feeding as the basis of attachment:
Breastfeeding for at least the first 6 months provides a strong physical and emotional bond.
In the 1950s, psychologists found that babies appeared to be conditioned into associating their mother with food, suggesting feeding drove the attachment.
Arguments against feeding as the basis of attachment:
Harlow's monkey experiments undermined this view. Infant monkeys consistently preferred a soft cloth "mother" that provided comfort over a wire "mother" that provided milk.
This suggests emotional contact and comfort are more important than feeding in forming attachment bonds.
Evidence that deprivation causes lasting damage:
Bowlby's 44 Thieves study suggests maternal deprivation had long-lasting effects on behaviour and emotional development.
Ermisch and Francesconi found that mothers who work full-time have children with slower emotional development and lower reading scores. Chance of achieving A-levels dropped from 60% to 50%.
Evidence against lasting deprivation damage:
The attachment bond does not have to be with the mother. Other caregivers can fulfil the same role.
Bowlby also found 18 children with long hospital admissions who showed very few problems in later life, suggesting deprivation does not inevitably cause harm.
McGinn found that daughters of working mothers from 24 countries enjoyed better careers and higher pay (4% more), suggesting maternal absence for work is not necessarily damaging.
Arguments that mothers are uniquely important ("Mothers not Fathers"):
Most men are not psychologically equipped for intense caring, according to this view.
Oestrogen is linked to caring behaviours.
Men are less sensitive than women in some measures of responsiveness to infant cues.
Oxytocin (released during breastfeeding) promotes social bonding. It is also released when people first fall in love.
Arguments that fathers can be equally effective caregivers ("Fathers not Mothers"):
The view that men are not emotional is sexist and outdated.
Gettler's research: when men become fathers, their testosterone levels drop, suggesting a biological shift towards caregiving.
The Aka tribe provides a cross-cultural example where men take on the parental role, suggesting men can be effective caregivers.
This challenges the assumption that the attachment bond must be with the mother.
Social:
The Equality Act 2010 and shared parental leave (April 2015, 52 weeks) reflect changing views on parenting roles.
In practice, only 1% of fathers take up shared parental leave.
Ethical:
Attachment research is a socially sensitive issue.
If the accepted view is that mothers should be the primary caregiver (PCG), this can have negative effects for women, including guilt and being labelled as a "bad mother" for working.
Economic:
The workforce needs women, which means childcare provision is needed.
Average annual cost of nursery was £9,850 (2014 figures).
Parents can claim tax relief to help offset childcare costs.
Students often assume Harlow's monkeys proved that feeding is irrelevant to attachment. The study showed comfort was more important, but feeding still plays a supporting role.
Students frequently confuse deprivation (loss of a bond) with privation (never having a bond). These are different concepts with different implications.
The "Mothers not Fathers" debate is not asking whether men love their children. It is asking whether biological and hormonal differences make mothers more naturally suited to intense early caregiving.
Students sometimes cite the Aka tribe without context. It is a single cross-cultural example, not proof that all men are equally equipped for caregiving in every society.
⚠️ The feeding debate is often tested as a short evaluation question. Know Harlow's monkeys as the key counter-evidence.
⚠️ For the deprivation debate, be ready to present evidence on both sides. Examiners want balanced evaluation, not a one-sided answer.
⚠️ The "Mothers not Fathers" debate often appears in essay questions about gender and parenting. Use Gettler (testosterone drop) and the Aka tribe as named studies.
⚠️ Social, ethical, and economic implications are commonly tested as a standalone section. Know the specific figures: 1% of fathers, £9,850 nursery cost, Equality Act 2010.
True or False: Harlow's monkeys preferred the wire mother that provided food.
Fill in the blank: Ermisch and Francesconi found that children of full-time working mothers had a ______% chance of achieving A-levels, down from 60%.
True or False: Only 1% of fathers take up shared parental leave.
Name one piece of evidence that fathers can be effective caregivers.
True or False: The average annual cost of nursery in 2014 was £9,850.
Answers: 1. False (they preferred the cloth mother). 2. 50%. 3. True. 4. Gettler's testosterone research or the Aka tribe. 5. True.
Q: Outline the evidence for and against the view that feeding is the basis of attachment.
A: For: breastfeeding creates a strong physical and emotional bond, and 1950s research suggested babies were conditioned to associate their mother with food. Against: Harlow's monkey experiments showed that infant monkeys preferred a cloth mother providing comfort over a wire mother providing food, suggesting emotional contact matters more than feeding.
Q: Evaluate the claim that maternal deprivation causes lasting psychological damage.
A: Supporting evidence includes Bowlby's 44 Thieves study (linking deprivation to delinquency) and Ermisch and Francesconi's findings on lower academic achievement in children of full-time working mothers. Counter-evidence includes Bowlby's own finding that 18 hospitalised children showed no lasting problems, and McGinn's research showing daughters of working mothers had better career outcomes.
Q: Discuss whether fathers can be effective primary caregivers.
A: Arguments against include hormonal differences (oestrogen and oxytocin favour mothers) and claims that men are less sensitive to infant cues. Arguments in favour include Gettler's finding that testosterone drops in new fathers, the Aka tribe where men take on parental roles, and the broader point that characterising men as unemotional is an outdated stereotype.
This material connects to the psychodynamic foundations (Bowlby's original research), to the explanation of behaviours like aggression and schizophrenia (where the tripartite model is applied), and to broader debates in psychology around gender roles, nature vs. nurture, and the ethics of psychological research.
The social, ethical, and economic section also links to any module covering research ethics or applied psychology.
Feeding debate, contact comfort, Harlow's monkeys, deprivation vs privation, maternal deprivation hypothesis, Ermisch and Francesconi, McGinn working mothers, mothers vs fathers debate, Gettler testosterone, Aka tribe, oestrogen, oxytocin, shared parental leave, Equality Act 2010, nursery costs, psychodynamic approach, General Psychology, Ohio State