Attachment: Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby’s Monotropic theory

Question 1

learning through C…..C….?

Answer 1

Classical conditioning

Question 2

Describe CC and attachment

Answer 2

Food automatically satisfies a baby’s basic need and causes pleasure. The mother usually provides this source of pleasure. This is repeated and mother becomes associated with food.

Question 3

Draw CC diagram for attachment

Question 4

A negative reinforcer is…

Answer 4

a behaviour that increases behaviours by removing negative consequences or stimuli

Question 5

A primary reinforcer is a…

Answer 5

naturally occurring reaction to a stimulus. The response is innate and does not require learning

Question 6

A secondary reinforcer is..

Answer 6

a stimulus that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer

Question 7

Describe OC and attachment

Answer 7

Food to a child is a primary reinforcer, as it fulfils a biological
need. The child’s caregiver becomes secondary reinforcer
because they provide the primary reinforcer (i.e. food).
* This means the child will try and stay close to the caregiver as they can. This
attachment behaviour can be referred to as proximity-seeking
* Also, when the caregiver feeds the child, the crying (an undesirable action)
stops. This acts as negative reinforcement for the caregiver and
in the future, when the child cries, they will comfort it in the same way because
this removed the negative experience in the past.

• Other people feeding will mean that the child will form multiple attachments,
  this is referred to as stimulus generalisation.

Question 8

Evaluation of learning theory: research from Harlow

Answer 8

An issue with the learning theory of how attachments form is there is research
which refutes the fundamental ideas of the theory. For example, Harlow
contradicts the idea that food is key for learning how to form attachment, as
Harlow found when he studied rhesus monkeys……. they preferred comfort more than food - spending up to 15 hrs a day with comfort and just 1 hr with wire

This suggests that…. learning theory of attachment has contradictory evidence that suggests food is not the key to attachment

Question 9

Evaluation of learning theory for attachment
contradictory evidence

Answer 9

Additionally, Schaffer and Emerson also show flaws in the learning theory.
For example, in their study on stages of attachment they found that…… 39% of the samples main attachment figure was someone other than the person who fed them or bathed them but 61% DID!

This implies that…not all infants strive to form attachments based on food like learning theory suggests

Question 10

Evaluation of learning theory

validated, trusted theory

ALTERNATIVELY its scientific

Answer 10

However, the learning theory is an existing, validated theory……which cannot only explain the complex world of infant attachments, but can be applied to explain many human behaviours as well e.g. acquisition of phobias, treating mental health conditions etc

This suggests that learning theory is a trusted and reliable mechanism to explain a variety of behaviours

Question 11

Evaluation of learning theory

alternative explanations

Answer 11

The learning theory may be less valid as there are other explanations for
attachments, which may be considered as more comprehensive. For
example, Bowlby’s monotropic theory can explain how we have evolved to
form attachments. So Bowlby’s monotropic theory takes a nature view on
attachment behaviour, which is the opposite to nurture view of the learning
theory.
This therefore implies that …learning theory may be incomplete in its bland focus of attachment purely on environmental features

Question 12

Evaluation of learning theory

scientific

Answer 12

The learning explanation of attachemnt is based on scientific and objective phenomena. For example, when explaining attachment it focuses exclusively on observable and faslible behaviours e.g. joy on reunion that baby shows to the caregiver
This means this explanation of attachemnt helps support the view that psychology is a scientific subject- worthy of respect and funding

Question 13

What are assumptions of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

Answer 13

This theory believes that attachment behaviours serve an evolutionary advantage and
are coded in our genetic structure. This theory believes in NATURE not NURTURE.
According to this theory, ATTACHMENT is a set of behaviours that have aided our
survival and allowed our genes to continue.

Question 14

DESCRIBE 4 KEY PRINCIPLES WITHIN BOWLBY’S MONOTROPIC
THEORY

Answer 14

1. Attachment is MONOTROPIC
   * Monotropy is a preference for ONE person, the
   caregiver
2. Monotropic attachment is INNATE & ADAPTIVE
   * We have an innate drive to form an attachment

• Attachment is therefore an adaptive trait

3. According to Bowlby, infants use SOCIAL RELEASERS to elicit caregiving.
   * She is programmed instinctively to respond to her child’s social releasers:
   *Social releasers are:
4. This monotropic attachment has a “CRITICAL PERIOD”
   * This is a “window of development” when an infant is most easily & quickly able to form an attachment
5. Monotropic attachment forms our INTERNAL WORKING MODEL
   * This is an individual’s template for all future relationships based on their first
   monotropic attachment relationship.

The Continuity Hypothesis suggests that there is a clear link between early attachment and later
emotional behaviour.

Question 15

Evaluation of Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

supporting evidence

Answer 15

A strength of the Monotropic theory is there is SUPPORTING EVIDENCE There is
a lot of support from research projects that support various ideas within Bowlby’s
theory. These include: Support for the concept of a ‘critical period’ from Lorenz’s
work: Lorenz found there was a critical period for geese to imprint on their caregiver (4-25 hrs after hatching) This supports the idea that there may be a critical period for human attachment

Support for the importance of caregiver sensitivity over food from Harlow’s
research: (summarise relevant findings). Harlow found baby monkeys went to a cloth mother with no food rathe than a wire mother with food when they were scared suggesting sensitivity not food is important in attachments

These studies suggest that his explanation has some valid ideas. This
suggests that….Bowlby thoery of monotropy is credible and relevant to human attachments

Question 16

Evaluation of Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

evolutionary discontinuity

Answer 16

However, some of the research support for Bowlby’s monotropic theory , such as
work by Lorenz and Harlow, comes from research with non-human animals. This is
a flaw for the theory because….. we cannot generalise behvaiour form animals to humans as evolutionary discontinuity means that humans and animals have qualitative diffs that are involved with attachment e.g. language centres

This evidence therefore questions the extent to which we can use this research
to support Bowlby’s Monotropic theory about human attachment relationships.

Question 17

Evaluation of Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

alternative explanation

Answer 17

learning theory

focuses on observable things

also temperament of child

Question 18

Evaluation of Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

practical applications

Answer 18

The Monotropic theory has many REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS
For example, Bowlby’s explanation has been influential in the improvement of
child care services. Largely because of Bowlby’s theory, procedures that were
once in place (e.g. ones which prevented staff from bonding with infants in their
care) have now been recognised as harmful to children and have changed. For
example, in nurseries infants often have 1 key worker, to maintain a consistent
attachment to the child. This means that Bowlby’s work has helped to
support the development of attachment relationships and avoid some of
the damaging negative influences

Question 19

Difference between monotropy and learning explanation

Answer 19

NATURE V NURTURE