Attachment - Booklet 2 Flashcards
Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow, Explanations of attachment: Learning Theory and Bowlby's Monotropic Theory, Concepts of critical period and internal working model
define imprinting
-an irreversible, innate process where an attachment is formed with the first moving thing they see upon hatching which they mark as their mother
-must take place in a critical period otherwise there are irreversible developmental consequences
procedure for lorenz’s research
-randomly divided a large clutch of greylag goose eggs into two groups
-group 1 (control group) were naturally hatched with their mother
-group 2 (experimental group) were hatched in an incubator away from their mother, with first moving thing they saw as lorenz
-each gosling marked so lorenz could identify which group they were part of
-placed in upturned box and removed box to observe imprinting
findings for lorenz’s research
-naturally hatched goslings followed their mother
-incubated goslings followed lorenz
-attachment is instinctive/innate as imprinting was programmed genetically for survival
-critical period of 12-17 hours for imprinting to occur
-if the critical period was missed, irreversible consequences
procedure for harlow’s research
-controlled environment
-monkeys released into a cage with the choice of two surrogate mothers:
-cloth covered mother (condition 1) - contact comfort but no food
-wire covered mother (condition 2) - food but no contact comfort
-time spent with each mother was recorded
-fear condition used fear producing stimuli and used conditions of monkeys alone or with wire and clothed mother to observe responses
findings for harlow’s research
-monkeys chose contact comfort over food (cloth covered monkey)
-in fear condition, monkeys with no mother were distressed, monkeys with the mothers present looked to the contact comfort mother for safety
conclusion for harlow’s research
-we have a need for contact comfort
-need a secure base to allow exploration of the world
-there are long term effects of maternal deprivation
-there is a critical period of 90 days for monkeys to form attachments
describe long term effects of maternal deprivation found by harlow
-reported on research on ‘motherless monkeys’
-either completely ignored or abused initial offspring
-lacked social skills and were timid (antisocial), were dysfunctional
-because they lacked a model
-could be reversed if lasted less than 90 days
AO3 points for animal studies
-difficult to generalise to humans
-research was unethical
-real life application
AO3 - animal attachment studies are difficult to generalise to humans
-humans biologically + cognitively different to monkeys/geese as more cognitively advanced
-humans born in different (altricial) stage of development eg monkeys are born in a later stage of development
-birds and mammals form attachments differently as mammalian mothers may show more emotional attachment
-so cannot extrapolate results to humans, so not valid in explaining human attachments
AO3 - animal attachment studies are difficult to generalise to humans - counter argument
-monkeys are considered to be more similar to humans than birds
AO3 - animal attachment research was unethical
-monkeys suffered
-species are similar enough to humans to compare suffering as similar
-but monkeys not able to consent/ withdraw
-harlow was aware of suffering as called the wire monkeys ‘iron maidens’ after a medieval torture device
-so it undermines the value of the research
AO3 - animal attachment research was unethical - counter argument
-harlow’s research was sufficiently important to justify the effects
AO3 - animal attachment studies have real life application
-zoo keepers are aware there is a critical period for attachment and are aware of the effects of maternal deprivation, so keep mothers and offspring together
-social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse so intervene to prevent it
-so it suggests the findings of animal research are beneficial in society for both animals and humans
describe the learning theory of attachment
-children learn to become attached to their caregiver as they give them food (cupboard love)
-learning attachment due to associations being made between different stimuli through classical conditioning
-strengthening attachment due to patterns of reinforcement in operant conditioning
-secondary drive as draws on concept of drive reduction where primary drive of hunger is generalised to the caregiver as the caregiver satisfies their primary drive
describe classical conditioning in the learning theory of attachment
before conditioning
-food (us) leads to happy baby (ur)
during conditioning
-mother (ns) + food (us) leads to happy baby (ur)
after conditioning
-mother (cs) leads to happy baby (cr)
-infant learns to associate mother and milk forming an attachment
describe operant conditioning in the learning theory of attachment
-positive reinforcement - when a baby cries, it receives food
-strengthens attachment as know they gain a reward as the caregiver meets their needs, so repeat behaviour as it is reinforced
-negative reinforcement - when a mother cuddles the baby/ gives it food, it stops crying
-so the mother will repeat this to avoid unpleasant crying
AO3 - points for the learning theory of attachment
-counter evidence from animal research
-counter evidence from human research
-ignores other factors important in forming attachment
-links to key studies
AO3 - counter evidence for learning theory of attachment from animal research
-lorenz found imprinting was innate, not learnt, and this is what formed the attachment
-harlow found the monkeys chose contact comfort over food as spent most time with cloth covered mother
-suggests innate processes and contact comfort are involved, so questions validity of learning approach
AO3 - counter evidence for learning theory of attachment from human research
-schaffer and emerson found infants form attachments to the caregiver who was most responsive to their needs ( sensitive responsiveness )
-limits validity of learning theory as shows sensitive responsiveness is more important than food for attachments
AO3 - learning theory of attachment ignores other important factors
-isabella found better interactions lead to better quality attachments
-infant caregiver interactions eg reciprocity and interactional synchrony important
-learning theory suggests classical and operant conditioning important
-so learning theory is unreliable as lacks consistency and other factors more important
AO3 - learning theory of attachment supported by key studies into classical and operant conditioning
-cc- pavlov conditioned dog to salivate as associated a bell with food
-oc -skinner conditioned rats to press a lever for food or to avoid electric shocks
-validates the underlining principles involved in forming attachments, supporting the learning theory
AO3 - learning theory of attachment supported by key studies into classical and operant conditioning - counter argument
-these studies were conducted using animals so cannot extrapolate results as may not be valid to do so
outline bowlby’s monotropic theory
-biological basis for attachment
-lorenz + harlows research helped show attachment in animals is an innate process
-attachments are adaptive as they occur due to innate processes that are evolutionary for survival
-social releasers - eg smiling important as elicit a reponse from caregiver
-critical period - 2 1/2 years to form a monotropic attachment, of one not formed, it is hard to form later
-monotropy - there is a specific relationship with the primary caregiver, with the most importance
-internal working mode; - framework/template for future relationships based off monotropic attachment
-law of continuity - more constant and predictable care = better attachment
-law of accumulated response - effects of separation build up = worse attachment
AO3 - points for bowlbys monotropic theory
-socially sensitive leading to economic implications
-animal studies support elements of bowlby’s theory
-real life application
-undermines other research
AO3 - monotropy can be seen as socially sensitive and may have economic implications
-bowlby suggested that infants form a stronger and more important attachment to their primary caregiver, who is usually the mother
-pressure is put on mothers to ensure they have formed a monotropic attachment to ensure a good internal working model for their child’s future relationships
-so working, single mothers may leave their jobs to ensure they can form a monotropic attachment, reducing their contribution to the economy
AO3 - animal studies of attachment support elements of bowlbys theory
-lorenz found imprinting is innate, supporting bowlbys theory that attachment is innate
-lorenz and harlow found critical periods in attachment, like bowlby’s
-harlow found irreversible consequences of maternal deprivation, which supports bowlby suggesting the internal working model is negatively impacted if an attachment is not formed
-so this helps validate bowlby’s theory
AO3 - animal studies of attachment support elements of bowlbys theory - counter argument
-the studies were conducted on animals, who are biologically and cognitively different
-may not be valid to extrapolate results
AO3 - real life application of bowlby’s theory
-hospitals allow parents to visit young children over prolonged periods of time, out of the usual visiting hours
-the primary caregiver has the opportunity to form a monotropic attachment during the child’s critical period
-so it improves the child’s future relationships
-so suggests bowlby’s theory is beneficial in real life
AO3 - bowlby’s research undermines schaffer and emerson’s research
-schaffer and emerson found at 10-11 months the infant is able to form multiple attachments
-they also found there are 4 stages of attachment rather than a single monotropic attachment
-so bowlby’s theory may be unreliable as there are inconsistent findings in research about attachments
