Attachment Flashcards
what are the two explanations for attachment?
- the learning theory
- bowlby’s monotropic theory
what does the learning theory of attachment state?
that attachments are formed through classical and operant conditioning
- how are attachments formed through classical conditioning?
- describe the process (flow chart)
the infant learns to associate the primary caregiver with food
- before conditioning, the food is the unconditioned stimulus, and happiness is the unconditioned response produced. during conditioning, the neutral stimulus (the mother/primary caregiver) is presented at the same time as food on multiple occasions, and the food still produces the unconditioned response of a happy baby. it is during this time that the baby learns to associate the mother with food and happiness. so, after conditioning, the sight of the mother alone (who is now a conditioned stimulus) produces the conditioned response of a happy baby. an attachment has now been formed
how are attachments formed through operant conditioning?
- reinforcement produces an attachment
- for example, crying leads to a response from the caregiver, such as comfort or feeding. as long as the caregiver provides a pleasant response, the crying is positively reinforced. this means the baby will likely cry repeatedly to illicit the pleasant response
how is reinforcement a two way process in attachment formation?
- as whilst the baby is positively reinforced for crying (by receiving comfort/feeding), the mother is negatively reinforced as when she provides this comfort, the crying stops, (negative reinforcement is when behaviour increases to avoid an unpleasant outcome - like crying)
- so attachment is reinforced for both the infant and the caregiver
how can attachment be explained as a secondary drive?
- hunger can be thought to be a primary drive, as it is an innate, biological motivator (we are motivated to reduce our own hunger)
- so, it is suggested that, as caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them
- therefore, attachment is the secondary drive, learned by an association between the caregiver and satisfying the primary drive
what is a strength of the learning theory explanation of attachment?
- provides valuable insight into how an infant becomes attached to its primary caregiver and the key role that food plays during attachment formation. understanding the role of food can lead to practical applications such as strengthening the role of the father by involving them in feeding. this is a strength as the learning theory has helped to increase and understand attachment between babies and their caregivers, and also uses observable and testable measures to do so.
what are the weaknesses of the learning theory explanation of attachment?
- contradictory research comes from harlow’s study on rhesus monkeys. he found that monkeys formed an attachment with the cloth mother that provided comfort rather than with the wire mother that provided food. this clearly suggests that attachment is not due to regular feeding but rather contact comfort, which contradicts the learning theory.
A* counter argument - study on monkeys cannot be generalised to humans! = anthropomorphism - many infants form attachments to people that dont feed them. for example, schaffer and emerson found that in 39% of cases, the primary attachment figure was not the person that fed them. therefore, food is not the key factor in attachment formation, weakening the explanations validity.
what is bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?
an evolutionary explanation for attachment that hypothesises attachment is an innate system (not learnt) that we utilise to increase our chances of survival
what are the four principles of bowlbys monotropic theory?
what is a pneumonic to remember this?
MICE
Monotropic bond
Internal working model
Critical period
Evolutionary principles
explain each of the four principles of bowlbys monotropic theory
monotropic bond = the attachment is to one specific caregiver, that is usually our biological mother. this bond is more important than any other attachment the child forms
internal working model = the monotropic bond acts as a template for all later relationships, and the childs ability to become a parent themselves later in life. eg. if the child is insecurely attached to their parents, it is likely they will have a similar attachment to their own children
critical period = according to bowlby, the first two years of life are the critical period for an attachment to develop. if the attachment does not develop within this critical period (eg due to separation or death), it may seriously damage the childs social and emotional development
evolutionary principles = this explanation is based on evolutionary principles that argue humans have a biological need to attach to a caregiver to increase their survival chances. infants show innate behaviours (such as smiling and crying) that make attachment to a maternal figure possible. these are called social releasers and they bring out care-giving behaviours in adults.
what is a strength of bowlby’s monotropic theory as an explanation for attachment?
- there is supporting evidence for the internal working model. researchers found that after assessing the attachment style of 99 mothers to their babies and the mother’s mothers, the majority had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers. this supports bowlby’s view that the internal working model of attachment is passed through families
what are the weaknesses of bowlby’s monotropic theory as an explanation for attachment?
- the idea of the critical period has been contradicted by evidence. most psychologists instead suggest that there is a sensitive period where attachments are most likely to form, but they could be formed at other times. research has demonstrated even children raised in isolation can go on to form attachments with caregivers after the critical period
A* CA = findings from Lorenz support the idea of the critical period. he found that if imprinting did not occur within a few hours of the geese being hatched, it would not occur at all, thus increasing the validity of bowlby’s claim. - bowlby’s claim that children form a single specific attachment is not supported by evidence. for example, schaffer and emerson found that by 10 months of age, most babies had formed multiple attachments. this matters because research suggests the theory of the monotropic bond lacks reliability.
how is maternal deprivation caused?
by prolonged separation from the attachment figure, especially during the critical period (first 3 years of life)
how can maternal deprivation have effects on intellectual development?
researchers have found that maternally deprived children in orphanages have lower IQ’s than those that were fostered
how can maternal deprivation have effects on emotional development?
maternally deprived children may display affectionless psychopathy, which is when they have an inability to show affection or concern for others, and act on impulse with little regard for the consequence of their actions
what research was carried out into bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation? explain the procedure and findings
- bowlby’s 44 thieves study
- sample consisted of 44 criminal teenagers who had been accused of stealing.
- they were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
- their families were also interviewed to establish whether the ‘thieves’ had suffered prolonged early separation from their mothers
- a control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed teenagers was set up to see how often maternal deprivation occurred in children who were not delinquent
- findings = 14/44 thieves were described as affectionless psychopaths. of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation in the first 2 years of life
- out of the control group, 2/44 had suffered maternal deprivation, but 0/44 were categorised as affectionless psychopaths
conclusion = maternal deprivation causes affectionless psychopathy
what is a strength of bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?
- supporting evidence from harlow’s study on rhesus monkeys. in this study, the monkeys suffered maternal deprivation when they were separated from their real mothers, and as adults they were abusive to their offspring, more aggressive and less sociable. this supports the view that maternal deprivation has a detrimental effect on development
what are the weaknesses of bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?
- contradictory eidence from cross-cultural research. for example, one researcher studied Guatemalan Indians and found that even though children experienced maternal deprivation as they were kept in windowless huts with little interaction with their primary caregiver, they did not experience any social and intellectual impairment. this goes against the maternal deprivation theory.
- theory may be confusing deprivation with privation. deprivation is the loss of the primary attachment figure after an attachment has developed, whereas privation is the failure to form an attachment in the first place. many of the children in the 44 thieves study may have never formed a strong attachment, suggesting privation rather than deprivation. this reduces the internal validity of the study.
what is an institute?
a place where someone lives outside of the family home, such as a childrens home, a mental hospital, or an prison
what does institutionalisation cause?
harmful effects such as apathy, loss of personal identity, and independence
why did institutionalisation occur in Romania?
in the 1990’s, the government required women to have large families, and many Romanian parents could not afford to keep their children, so many ended up in huge orphanages with very poor conditions. this government was overthrown, and many children were adopted by British parents
who conducted research into the effects of institutionalisation on development?
Rutter
describe rutters procedure, and the findings of his experiment into institutionalisation
- followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain. physical, cognitive, and emotional development was assessed at ages 4,6,11 and 15 years. a group of 52 British children adopted around the same time acted as a control group.
findings (the effects of institutionalisation) = when they first arrived in the UK, the adoptees lagged behind their british counterparts in all 3 areas of development. at age 11, the improvement depended on the age they were adopted.
if they were adopted from 0-6 months old, mean IQ score was 102.
if they were adopted between 6 months and 2 years, mean IQ score was 86.
if they were adopted after the age of 2 years old, mean IQ score was 77
- children adopted after 6 months showed signs of attention seeking, clinginess, and disinhibited attachment, which is when the child shows equal affection to strangers as they do to people they know well.
