Attachment - Theories of Attachment Flashcards
1
Q
What is learning theory?
A
- A set of ideas from the behaviourist approach
- Behaviourists believe that we are born as blank slates and so everything can be explained in terms of experiences we have. They prefer to focus on explanations of behaviour (what people do) rather than might or might not be going on in their minds because it is more objective and allows more control.
- They argue that all behaviour is learned through classical and operant conditioning. Conditioning means learning.
- In terms of attachment, this is sometimes called a ‘cupboard love’ approach because it suggests that children learn to love whoever feeds them.
2
Q
Classical conditioning with attachment - definitions
A
- Classical conditioning involves learning by association - This means that we learn to associate two stimuli together so that we begin to respond to one in the same way as we already respond to the other
- Stimulus - anything internal or external that brings about a response
- Response - Any reaction in the presence of a stimulus
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - A stimulus that produces an innate reflex action
- Unconditioned response (UCR) - An innate, reflex response
- Neutral stimulus (NS) - A stimulus which does not naturally produce a response
- Conditioned stimulus (CS) - The new stimulus which produces the learned response
- Conditioned response (CR) - A learned response
3
Q
The learning theory of attachment - Classical conditioning
A
- Suggests infants learn to form an attachment with their mother
- One way that the attachment develops is through classical conditioning - according to this theory, the process begins with an innate stimulus-response
- In the case of attachment, the innate unconditioned stimulus is food, producing an innate, unconditioned response of pleasure
- The mother or caregiver begins as a neutral stimulus that produces a neutral response
- At first, the infant simply feels pleasure and is comforted by the food; however, everytime they are fed the mother/caregiver is there to
- Therefore, they associate the mother/caregiver with the pleasure of being fed
- The mother therefore becomes a learned or conditioned stimulus and this produces the learned or conditioned response of pleasure
- This feeling of pleasure is stimulated even without the food
- This leads to the infant feeling happier when the mother is near, triggering the beginning of attachment
4
Q
The learning theory of attachment - explanation of operant conditioning
A
- Operant conditioning involves learning to repeat behaviour or not depending on its consequences; if a behaviour produces a pleasant consequence that behaviour is likely to be repeated again as it is reinforced, but if a behaviour produces a negative or unpleasant consequence it is less likely to be repeated (punishment = less likely, reinforced = more likely)
- Positive reinforcement - this increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated because it involves a reward for the behaviour, explaining why infants cry for comfort, an important attachment building behaviour
- Crying causes a caregiver response e.g. feeding and as long as the caregiver provides the correct response, the reward reinforces the action so the infant repeats it and cries again
- Negative reinforcement - this increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated because it involves the removal of, or escape from, unpleasant consequences as when the infant is fed, the crying stops and the caregiver therefore escapes the unpleasant crying
- This reinforces the action so the mother repeats it and feeds the infant when they cry
- This interplay of reinforcement strengthens the attachment
5
Q
The learning theory of attachment - Drive reduction within operant conditioning
A
- Drive reduction argues that when we feel discomfort, this creates a drive to reduce the discomfort
- E.g. Need (food, water etc) -> Drive (hunger, thirst) -> Drive-reducing behaviours (eating, drinking)
- According to operant conditioning, the food satisfies the infant’s hunger and makes it feel comfortable again (drive reduction)
- This is rewarding and therefore feeding behaviour is an example of positive reinforcement and the food is a primary reinforcer because it directly supplies a reward
- The mother or caregiver who supplied the food is associated with the food and so becomes a secondary reinforcer - the infant becomes attached to the mother because she is the source of reward
6
Q
LToA - Operant conditioning process
A
- Dollard and Miller offered an explanation of attachment based on operant conditioning, suggesting that a hungry infant feels discomfort and this creates a drive to reduce this feeling
- When the infant is fed, the drive is reduced, which creates a feeling of reward as they are comfortable again (which is reinforcing)
- This is known as drive reduction, and food is therefore a primary reinforcer
- The mother who supplies the food is associated with the food and so becomes a secondary reinforcer, and the infant becomes attached to the mother as she is a source of reward
7
Q
Evaluation of the learning theory of attachment - Weakness of the research that supports the theory and ideas undermining it
A
- Learning theory is largely based on studies of non-human animals such as Skinner’s research into pigeons, and behaviourists believe that humans are no different from other animals in terms of how they learn. Therefore, they argue that it is legitimate to generalise the results from animal studies to humans; however, some aspects of human behaviour can be explained by conditioning, not all behaviour can be, especially complex behaviour such as attachment.
- Research suggests the quality of attachment is associated with factors like developing reciprocity and good levels of interactional synchrony (Isabella et al, 1989) as the best quality attachments are with sensitive carers who pick up on infant signals and respond appropriately
- This suggests that the theory is lacking external validity and is an incomplete explanation of attachment as a result that this theory is too simplistic and therefore it is not entirely applicable to the complex nature of attachment in humans, and animal studies are hard to generalise
8
Q
Evaluating the learning theory of attachment - Studies undermining the theory
A
- A range of animal studies have shown that young animals do not necessarily attach to or imprint on those who feed them - Lorenz’s geese imprinted before they were fed and maintained the attachments regardless of who fed them, and Harlow’s monkeys attached to a soft surrogate in preference to a wire one that dispensed milk.
- This suggests that learning theories do not explain how attachment forms as the results are unreliable, and that attachment does not develop as a result of feeding, therefore undermining the conditioning theory - no external validity - Research with human infants also suggests that feeding does not appear to be an important factor in humans, for example, Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study found that 39% of infants developed a primary attachment to the person who did not feed them
- This suggests that other factors other than feeding are more important to attachment - learning theories are to invalid and simplified versions of behaviour
9
Q
Evaluating the learning theory of attachment - strengths
A
- Learning theory may not provide a complex explanation of attachment, but it has some value - infants do learn through association and reinforcement, but food may not be the main reinforcer. It may be that attention and responsiveness from a caregiver are important rewards that assist the formation of attachment
- This suggests that learning theory is useful in understanding factors of attachment and in helping mothers and caregivers secure bonds with their children to help them socially develop; reinforcement, even if it is not food, still has an important role explained by this theory
10
Q
Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment - Evolutionary Theory
A
- Bowlby proposed an evolutionary theory of attachment; the idea that we have an innate tendency to form attachments because they give a survival advantage - an attached infant is better protected
- The attachments are a two way process - parents must also be attached in order to ensure that infants are cared for and survive; it is only parents who look after their offspring that are likely to produce subsequent generations
- Therefore, attachment is a biological process, and caregiving is an evolutionary behaviour developed through natural selection
- Infants are innately programmed to form attachment, a biological process that takes place during a critical period of 2 years; infants who do not form an attachment in this time will have difficulty forming attachments later on
11
Q
What are social releasers?
A
- Bowlby suggested that babies are born with innately ‘cute’ features and behaviours that encourage attention from adults; these activate the innate adult attachment system - the tendency of adults to care for them
- Social releasers are both behavioural (crying, cooing and gripping) or physical (typical ‘baby’ face, such as big eyes, small nose and chin and a high forehead).
- Bowlby recognised attachment is an important reciprocal process; both the mother and the baby have an innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers
12
Q
What was Bowlby’s proposal about the infant-caregiver relationship?
A
- He argued that the relationship that the infant has with the mother or primary attachment figure is of special significance in their emotional development and is a more important relationship than the rest of their development
- This is called monotropy
- A child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver, called an internal working model, and this gives the child a model of what relationships are like
- In the long term, this acts as a template for all future relationships because it generates expectations about what intimate, loving relationships are like
13
Q
What is the continuity hypothesis?
A
- A child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are loving and reliable and bring these qualities to future relationships
- The internal working model affects the child’s ability to be a parent, as people tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented
- Individuals who are securely attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competent, and are more likely to have secure adult relationships
14
Q
Evaluation of Bowlby’s Evolutionary Theory of Attachment - Strengths / support for theory
A
- The idea of an internal working model is testable because it predicts that patterns of attachment are passed from one generation to the next - researchers assessed 99 mothers with one-year-old babies on the quality of their attachment to their own mothers using a standard interview procedure
- They also assessed the attachment of the babies to the mothers with observation and they found that the mothers who reported poor attachments to their own parents in the interviews were much more likely to have children classified as poorly attached according to observations
- This suggests that Bowlby’s theory is reliable and has external validity, and that there is an existing internal working model that predicts future relationship development - this research confirms his theory of the transmission of a monotropic bond and the importance of interaction in attachment, and so his theory is a very useful explanation of attachment - There is clear evidence to suggest that cute infant behaviours are intended to initiate social interaction and that doing so is important for the baby - researchers observed mothers and babies during their interactions, with primary attachment figures instructed to ignore their babies’ signals; the babies initially showed some distress but when the attachment figures continued to ignore them, some responded by curling up and lying motionless
- This suggests that Bowlby’s theories of social releasers to activate innate adult attachment systems are a reliable and externally / ecologically valid explanation of attachment behaviours and mechanisms - babies are not subject to demand characteristics, solidifying the conclusions of the research, and so his theories hold true and match / explain accurately the complex behaviour of infants
15
Q
Evaluation of Bowlby’s Evolutionary Theory of Attachment - Strengths / support for theory - cont.
A
- Attachment is clearly important in emotional development but it may be less critical for survival - Bowlby suggested that attachments develop when the infant is older than 3 months, which is very late as a mechanism to protect infants; for our distant ancestors, it would be vital for attachments to form as soon as they were born
- However, human infants don’t need to cling onto mothers like new born monkeys do, as their mothers can carry them - it is when they start crawling (around 6 months) that attachment is vital and that is when attachments develop
- This suggests that his theory is valid and applicable to the typical behaviour and situations of development for infants, and so his evolutionary attachment theory is a reliable explanation of the attachment behaviour and mechanisms of infants
