attachment - learning theory + montropic Flashcards
according to john Locke how are we born ?
a blank slate or tabula rasa
what is babies prime desire when born ?
food
what is classical conditioning ?
learning through association
what is the formula for classical conditioning ?
US –> UR
US + NS = UR
CS = CR
what is operant conditioning ?
learning through reinforcement
how do babies use operant conditioning ?
the baby feels pain when it wants food so it cries in order to get food ( negative reinforcement the removal of something negative ) or learns to cry to get food from the mother - this crying is rienforced because they want more food
how do mothers use operant conditioning ?
the baby cries when it wants food so mother feeds it to remove the negative sound
how does classical conditioning apply to attachment ?
food (US) = babies UR
food (US) + mother (NS) = babies UR
mother (CS) = babies (CR)
what are the two explanations for attachment
learning theory
Bowlby’s monotropic theory
why did Bowlby reject the learning theory?
because he thought it was clear feeding is not what causes attachment. By observing the works of Lorenz and Harlow he proposed an evolutionary explanation suggesting that attachment is a result of an innate system engraved in our survival advantage.
what are the necessary components of Bowlby’s theory?
innate - montropic - social releasers - critical period - internal working model - continuity hypothesis
what did bowlby mean by montropic
he placed great importance on a childs attachment to one particular care giver who he called the ‘mother’ eventhough this did not mean the biological mother. he thought the more time spent with this primary caregiver the best.
what two principles put forward by Bowlby show importance of caregiver infant interactions and define them …
law of continuity - the more constant and predictable a Childs care the better the quality of their attachment
law of accumulated separation - the effects of every separation from the ‘mother’ add up
what are social releasers for Bowlby?
babies are born with a set of innate behaviours such as smiling that encourage the attention of adults.
active adult attachment so they feel love towards the baby
mother and baby have innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger this response in caregivers.
what is the critical period for Bowlby?
around the age of two the child is sensitive and if they do not build one by this time it will become harder to build one later.
what is the internal working model?
from childhood we form a mental template of our views on attachment and relationships. This is influenced by our relationship with the primary caregiver. This template affects the child’s ability to form relationships later on in life. explaining why family behaviour tends to repeat itself.
evaluation of bowlbys montropic theory
- researchh support for critical period - harlow - monkeys who didnt form attachment couldnt form relationships later on
- cross specie validity
- evidence for social releasers - Brazelton observed mothers and babies reporting IS , then mothers were told to ignore babies’ cues this distressed the infants. shows significance of infant’s social behaviour
- support for internal working model - bailey found 99 mothers and asked them about the quality of their relationship with their mothers and then assessed the relationship between the mothers and their babies finding that those who reported having poor relationships with their mothers were more likely to have poor relationships with their children.
- schaffer - stages of attachment - multiple not monotropic
-socially sensitive
who put forward the learning explanation for attachment?
dollard and miller 1950
overall statement for learning theory of attachment
overall, the learning theory teaches that infants learn to love those who feed them.
overall statement for Bowlby’s theory
overall, infants form one specific attachment because of their innate survival instincts and this early attachment forms the template of our views on later relationships.
what does it mean for attachment to be a secondary drive
Food is the primary innate, biological motivator whilst attachment is what follows and becomes the secondary drive this because there is an association between caregiver and the satisfaction of the primary drive.
Evaluation of learning theory
- Harlow found that monkeys do not prefer food and prefer comfort
- counter evidence for example Schaffer and Emerson found that many of their P.P children formed primary attachments to their biological mother even though they often didn’t feed their child.
- ignores other factors associated with forming attachments - reciprocity and interactional synchrony - best relationships include these things - if relationships developed purely due to the desire of food these complex interactions would be meaningless.
- alternative theory = Bowlby
why is operant conditioning important?
this interplay of reinforcement from the mother and infant forms and builds the attachment
overall A01 for montropic theory
1) why did bowlby reject food
innate
2) montropic
3) social releasers
4) critical period
5) internal working model
for learning theory what strengthens a relationship between infant and caregiver
the interplay of rienforcement
what are bowlbys two laws
principle of accumulated seperation -> seperation adds up to negative effects
principle of continuity –> more consistent care is better
