GROUP

BIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
Arnold Gesell’s Maturational theory
GROUP 4 Konrad Lorenz (1903–89): modern ethology Lorenz
John Bowlby (1907–90): attachment theory
Mary D. S. Ainsworth (1913–99): patterns of attachment
 GESELL’S MATURATIONAL THEORY

MATURATIONAL THEORY
ARNOLD GESELL CYCLICAL SPIRAL
Gesell was the first theorist to systematically study the stages
of development, and the first researcher to demonstrate that a
child’s developmental age (or stage of development) may be
different from his or her chronological age.

MATURATIONAL THEORY

This process is comprised of both internal and external

factors; genes and their environment.
Internal body clock
Predictable stages
Six stages included: smooth, break up, sorting out,
inwardizing, expansion and fitting together
CYCLICAL SPIRAL
 INNATE BEHAVIOUR
INNATE BEHAVIOUR
KONRAD LORENZ Abilities we appear to be born with and do not have to learn.
Instincts have a particular motivation or drive.
A medical doctor, Father of Modern Ethology and highly
influenced by Darwin's writing in evolution.
Ethology - the study of behaviour in its natural setting.
Imprinting - a process in which new-borns of most species will
recognise and seek proximity with the first object they encounter.
 ATTACHMENT THEORY

ATTACHMENT THEORY
JOHN BOWLBY
British psychologist and psychoanalyst who believed
that early childhood attachments played a critical
role in later development and mental functioning.
Originator of the Attachment Theory

ATTACHMENT THEORY
Infants have a biological pre-disposition to attach to their
mother for not just practical reasons but also emotional
reasons.

The existence of a strong, emotional bond was essential in

producing emotionally stable, happy children.
www.reallygreatsite.com
PATTERNS OF ATTACHMENT
Mary D. S. Ainsworth - worked with psychologist John
Bowlby, researched maternal-infant attachments. Eventually
went to study mother-child interactions in Uganda.
Type A form of Attachment – Avoidant Attachment
Infant shows few or no signs of missing the parent and
actively ignores and avoids her upon reunion.
Type C form of attachment – Ambivalent Attachment
If the infant becomes distressed when the mother leaves
but cannot be settled by the parent on reunion
Strange Situation Study - An observation wherein a mother
briefly leaves her child alone in an unfamiliar room to see the
child's reactions.
Type B form of attachment – Secure Attachment
Some children showed signs of missing the mother when she
left, and when she returned, the child made efforts to reunite
with the mother. Satisfied that the mother was back to stay,
the child returned to playing with the toys
Type D form of attachment - Disorganised Attachment
These infants were considered unclassifiable as they seemed
to show reunion behaviours that could not be included in the
other categories.