Animal Studies, learning theory and monotropic theory

Question 1

Lorenz aim?

Answer 1

To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting.

Question 2

What is imprinting?

Answer 2

Recognizing & following the first moving object seen during early life (usually the mother). Lorenz theorised it would be the first mother like object the geese were exposed to.

Question 3

Lorenz procedure?

Answer 3

• Randomly divided clutch of goose eggs
• Half hatched with mother goose in natural environment, half in an incubator with the first moving object they saw being Lorenz.

Question 4

Lorenz findings?

Answer 4

-Incubator group followed (researcher) everywhere, whereas control group followed mother goose.
-When the groups were mixed control group continued to follow mother goose while experimental group followed (researcher)

Question 5

Lorenz conclusions?

Answer 5

Lorenz identified a critical imprinting period of 12-24 hours for the geese. If they are not exposed to the mother quickly enough, an attachment will not be formed.

Question 6

What did Lorenz say about sexual imprinting?

Answer 6

-The birds that imprinted on Lorenz, in later life displayed direct courtship towards humans when mating.

Question 7

Strengths of Lorenz’s research?

Answer 7

Research support:
Regolin and Valloritgara (1995) exposed chicks to compound shapes that move. A range of shape combinations were moved in front of them and they followed the original most closely.

Applications to understanding human behaviour:
Peter Seeback (2005) suggested that computer users exhibit “baby duck syndrome”- attachment to their first computer system and reject others.

Question 8

Weaknesses of Lorenz’s research?

Answer 8

-generalisability birds & mammals have diff attachment systems (e.g. mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to their young than birds & mammals can form attachments at any time) so Lorenz’s results not relevant to humans)

-Ethical issues of depriving the geese of a natural upbringing with a mother.

-His idea that imprinting has a permanent effect on mating behaviour can be questioned (other research showed that birds imprinting on rubber gloves did eventually learn to prefer mating with their own species. suggests that the impact of imprinting on mating behaviour isn’t as permanent as Lorenz believed)

Question 9

Harlow’s aim?

Answer 9

To find out whether provision of food or contact comfort is more important in the formation of infant-mother attachment.

Question 10

Harlow’s procedure?

Answer 10

Created two wire mothers each with a different head, one with a milk bottle and one covered in soft cloth. Monkeys were frightened and it was recorded which mother they jumped to and which one they spent most time with.

Question 11

Harlow’s findings?

Answer 11

-monkeys preferred contact with the towelling mother when given a choice of surrogate mothers, regardless of whether she produced milk.
-Monkeys with only a wire surrogate had diarrhea- sign of stress
-when frightened by a loud noise monkeys clung to the towelling mother
-Harlow also found that the maternal deprivation of these 16 monkeys had severe consequences in adulthood. They were more aggressive and unskilled at mating. The children they did have, they tried to attack and in some cases killed.

Question 12

Harlow’s conclusion?

Answer 12

-Disputes the behavioural explanation for attachment and the idea of cupboard love. Showed the importance of comfort in attachment.
-A critical period of 90 days to be exposed to a live mother figure. Otherwise maternal deprivation damage would be irreversible.

Question 13

Strengths of Harlow’s research?

Answer 13

It has theoretical value- findings had a profound effect on psychologists understanding of human mother to infant attachment
It has practical value- it has helped social workers understand risk factor in neglect and abuse and so intervene to prevent it. Also helps zoos with breeding programmes.

Question 14

Weaknesses of Harlow’s research?

Answer 14

Ethically wrong
- The monkeys were severly mistreated. The maternal deprivation caused long term distress.
Lack of generalisability
- They are not human and therefore the results are not 100% generalisable to humans. Although mammals, the human brain is more complex.

Question 15

Who proposed that attachment is formed by cupboard love?

Answer 15

Miller and Dolard

Question 16

What are the principles of attachment learning theory?

Answer 16

-Attachment is learnt and is not innate.
-Attachment is a response to a stimulus in the environment.

Question 17

How is attachment explained by classical conditioning?

Answer 17

-The baby learns to associate the mother with food.
-At first the mother is the neutral stimulus, producing no response. The food is the unconditioned stimulus which produces an unconditioned pleasure response.
-During conditioning, the mother and food are continually paired together as the mother feeds the baby.
-The mother then becomes the conditioned stimulus, producing the conditioned pleasure response, which shows as attachment.

Question 18

How does operant conditioning explain attachment?

Answer 18

• attachment behaviour occurs because it brings desirable consequences
• e.g. the infant soon learn crying results in feeding by the caregiver. Therefore crying is positively reinforced, so it is more likely to be repeated.
• Negative reinforcement is experienced by the caregiver, as the negative noise of crying is removed, therefore the mother is more likely to comfort the baby.
• Food is the primary reinforcer, and the mother becomes the secondary reinforcer as they provide the food. The baby generalises the two and seeks the mother like it would seek food.

Question 19

Primary drives theory?

Answer 19

attachment results from associating the satisfaction of primary drives with the being who satisfies them. The primary drives are unlearned drives like hunger and thirst. The attachment is the secondary drive as it helps to satisfy the primary drives.

Question 20

Strengths of the learning approach to explain attachment?

Answer 20

-Even though there is contradicting evidence, it is still credible to suggest an association between primary caregiver and feeling comfort. Conditioning in the terms of food may not play a role, but in terms of comfort, conditioning may play a part in attachment.

Question 21

Weaknesses of the learning approach to explain attachment?

Answer 21

-Lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw without food being involved. Harlow’s monkeys displayed attachment to the soft cloth monkeys compared with the wire ones that dispensed milk. In both, food did not build attachment.
-Schaffer and Emerson found that babies tend to form attachments to mothers, regardless of who fed them the most. Isabella found that quality of interactional synchrony affected the quality of attachment. Food is not involved.
-Conditioning suggests babies play a very passive role in attachment but this is not the case.
-Social learning theory can also explain attachment. Family members model attachment behaviours, and children are positively reinforced when they displayed these behaviours.
-Ignores factors like interactional synchrony and reciprocity.

Question 22

What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

Answer 22

• attachment evolved as an innate system that gives a survival advantage
  -ensures young animals stay close to caregiver to protect them from danger.

Question 23

What are social releasors?

Answer 23

-A set of innate behaviours such as smiling, crying and cooing that encourage attention from adults.
-This activates social interaction and the adult will form an attachment with the child.

Question 24

What is Bowlby’s critical period?

Answer 24

More of a ‘Sensitive Period’ of six months, possibly extending up until 2 years, when the infant’s attachment system is more sensitive to forming attachments. They can still form attachments after this period is over but it will be much harder.

Question 25

What is monotropy?

Answer 25

-There is one attachment with the primary caregiver which is different and more important than the rest.
-Bowlby called them the mother, even if they were not the biological mother.
-This comes down to two principles:
1)Law of continuity- the more constant and predictable the care is, the better quality attachment.
2)Law of accumulated separation- effects of every separation from mother will add up, so no separation is best.

Question 26

What is the internal working model?

Answer 26

-Bowlby suggested that children form a metal view of their relationship with their primary care giver. Called internal working model because it serves as a model of what future relationships are like.
- e.g. a child who’s first experience is a loving caregiver will expect future relationships to be the same.
-It also affects the parenting styles of the children, as they tend to base it on how they have been parented.S

Question 27

Strengths of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

Answer 27

-Evidence for the role of social releasers- Clear evidence that cute baby behaviours are designed to prompt interaction from caregivers. Brazelton et al (1975) instructed primary caregivers to ignore the babies’ social releasers, and they observed that the babies became increasingly more distressed.

-Support for the internal working model- Bailey et al (2007) assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one year old babies. Then they measured the mothers attachment to their own mothers. Mothers with poor attachment to primary caregivers were more likely to have a poor quality attachment to their babies.

Question 28

Weaknesses of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

Answer 28

-The concept of montropy lacks validity- Schaffer and Emerson found that although babies are attached to one person first, the attachment may be stronger, but it is not any different. Other family members provide the same emotional support and a safe base.

-Internal working model is not the only influence on expectation for relationships or quality of parenting. Genetic differences in anxiety and social ability affects social behaviour in adults. So Bowlby may have overstated the role of the internal working model.