Attachment: topic 5 ‘explanations of attachment, learning theory and Bowlby’s monotropic theory’

Question 1

What does learning theory suggest about attachment?

Answer 1

• learning theory suggests attachment is a learned process (nurture) rather than innate
• behaviourists suggest that the infant becomes attached to a caregiver through conditioning

Question 2

What does the evolutionary perspective and Bowlby’s monotropic theory suggest about attachment?

Answer 2

• the evolutionary perspective including Bowlby’s monotropic theory suggests attachment is an inherited behaviour (nature)

Question 3

What is classical conditioning as an explanation for attachment?

Answer 3

• one way we might learn an attachment is through classical conditioning (learning by association)
• when we are born we do not need to learn that food is pleasurable and therefore the stimulus of good (an unconditioned stimulus) produces pleasure (an unconditioned response)
• a caregiver does not naturally produce a pleasure response and therefore the caregiver is a neutral stimulus
• over time, the caregiver (usually the mother) provides food and so the child learns to associate that caregiver with this pleasure
• as a result, the caregiver becomes a conditioned stimulus and the pleasure she brings is a conditioned response because the association has been learned (or conditioned)
• over time as an association is formed, the food giver becomes a source of pleasure regardless of whether they provide food or not

Question 4

What is operant conditioning as an explanation for attachment?

Answer 4

• we may learn an attachment though operant conditioning (learning by reinforcement)
• if a behaviour is positively reinforced (eg adding something positive or removing something negative), this makes it more likely we will repeat that behaviour
• in early attachments, the main behaviour being reinforced is crying, when a child is hungry, they usually cry to show this distress
• when the caregiver responds to this by feeding the child, this reduces the child’s discomfort and the child learns to repeat this behaviour in the future
• this is knows as positive reinforcement (the addition of something positive - food)
• similarly, the sound of the child crying is distressing for the caregiver and therefore when feeding the child stops them crying, the caregiver learns to repeat this behaviour in the future
• this is known as negative reinforcement (the removal of something negative - crying)
• in this way, the child and caregiver learn to mutually reinforce one another, strengthening their attachment

Question 5

Bowlby’s monotropic theory: what does Bowlby say about why infants form attachments at birth?

Answer 5

• Bowlby’s theory suggests that all infants are innately programmed to form an attachment from birth
• he proposed infants form an attachment to a caregiver because it is adaptive (good for our survival)
• attachment is seen as a biological process because he argues infants are born with an ‘attachment gene’ that programmes them to exhibit innate behaviours called ‘social releasers’ which increase their chances of receiving care such as clinging, crying and smiling
• these behaviours ensure the infant stays close to their caregiver who will feed and protect them

Question 6

Bowlby’s monotropic theory: what does Bowlby say about infants’ attachments and the effect on parents / relationships?

Answer 6

• the attachment gene also drives parents to provide care as this is also adaptive (increases chances of one’s gender continuing into the next generation)
• Bowlby believed that attachment was a two way process for which both babies and their caregivers were genetically programmed
• Bowlby argued there is a ‘critical period’ in which attachments tend to be formed which occurs between 6 months and 2 n 1/2 years
• he also argued that infants who do not have the opportunity to form an attachment during this time will have difficulty forming attachments later on
• Bowlby did not deny that infants form lots of attachments, but he argued one relationship (usually with the mother) is of special significance and the drive to have one main attachment is called ‘monotropy’ (monotropic)

Question 7

Bowlby’s monotropic theory: why did Bowlby argue that forming first attachments is crucial for infant development? [2]

Answer 7

• the first attachment is crucial for later development since the child formed as internal working model or attachment ‘template’ for later relationships with others (eg a close, loving relationship between a child and its mother would lead to the child expecting future relationships to be warm and loving)
• the internal working model affects the child’s kater ability to be a parent themselves
• people tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented, this explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves (this is also referred to as the ‘continuity hypothesis’) as the same attachment behaviours and abilities continue to follow the same template