Child psychology- topic 5

Question 1

Behaviourist theory of attachment

Answer 1

Attachment is a learned process - babies associate whoever is feeding them with comfort and through classical conditioning they will find comfort in this and become attached and they find behaviours bring about certain responses so they learn to do this to bring about the desired response through operant conditioning

Question 2

Evolutionary theory of attachment.

Answer 2

Babies are born already pre programmed to form attachments which will ensure survival - the infant produces innate ‘social releaser’ behaviours such as laughing to bring about care giving responses from adults

Question 3

Bowlby

Answer 3

Attachment is an innate behaviour - disrupting relationship with attachment figure could have bad consequences - maternal deprivation hypothesis - two outcomes - increased aggression or criminality

Question 4

Lorenz

Answer 4

Goose eggs - half with mother half with him - between 12 and 17 hours they follow the first thing they see