attachment - learning theory + montropic

Question 1

according to john Locke how are we born ?

Answer 1

a blank slate or tabula rasa

Question 2

what is babies prime desire when born ?

Answer 2

food

Question 3

what is classical conditioning ?

Answer 3

learning through association

Question 4

what is the formula for classical conditioning ?

Answer 4

US –> UR
US + NS = UR
CS = CR

Question 5

what is operant conditioning ?

Answer 5

learning through reinforcement

Question 6

how do babies use operant conditioning ?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

how do mothers use operant conditioning ?

Answer 7

the baby cries when it wants food so mother feeds it to remove the negative sound

Question 8

how does classical conditioning apply to attachment ?

Answer 8

food (US) = babies UR
food (US) + mother (NS) = babies UR
mother (CS) = babies (CR)

Question 9

what are the two explanations for attachment

Answer 9

learning theory
Bowlby’s monotropic theory

Question 10

why did Bowlby reject the learning theory?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

what are the necessary components of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 11

innate - montropic - social releasers - critical period - internal working model - continuity hypothesis

Question 12

what did bowlby mean by montropic

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

what two principles put forward by Bowlby show importance of caregiver infant interactions and define them …

Answer 13

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

Question 14

what are social releasers for Bowlby?

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

what is the critical period for Bowlby?

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

what is the internal working model?

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

evaluation of bowlbys montropic theory

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

who put forward the learning explanation for attachment?

Answer 18

dollard and miller 1950

Question 19

overall statement for learning theory of attachment

Answer 19

overall, the learning theory teaches that infants learn to love those who feed them.

Question 20

overall statement for Bowlby’s theory

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

what does it mean for attachment to be a secondary drive

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Evaluation of learning theory

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

why is operant conditioning important?

Answer 23

this interplay of reinforcement from the mother and infant forms and builds the attachment

Question 24

overall A01 for montropic theory

Answer 24

1) why did bowlby reject food
innate
2) montropic
3) social releasers
4) critical period
5) internal working model

Question 25

for learning theory what strengthens a relationship between infant and caregiver

Answer 25

the interplay of rienforcement

Question 26

what are bowlbys two laws

Answer 26

principle of accumulated seperation -> seperation adds up to negative effects
principle of continuity –> more consistent care is better