Explanations of attachment Flashcards
What is the cupboard love theory of attachment or ‘learning theory’ and who proposed it?
Dolland and Miller (1950)
- It states that infants become attached to their caregiver because they learn that their caregiver provides food which is learnt through classical conditioning
What is classical conditioning?
Learning due to association
Explain the cupboard love theory in relation to a mother, baby and food (classical conditioning)
- The mother is the neutral stimulus which the baby has no response to
- Food is an unconditioned stimulus because it produces the unconditioned response of pleasure in the baby.
- Because the unconditioned stimulus (food) is always present with the neutral stimulus (mother), the infant learns an association between mother and food
- The mother becomes a conditioned stimulus producing the conditioned response of pleasure in the baby.
What is operant conditioning?
Learning due to patterns of reinforcement.
What is a positive reinforcement + example?
When a behaviour is made more likely when receiving a pleasurable stimulus.
- When a parent feeds a crying baby, the baby is more likely to repeat the crying behaviour to get more food
What is negative reinforcement + example?
When a behaviour is made more likely when removing an unpleasant stimulus.
- When the baby cries, the parents will quickly give the baby food to stop it from crying
Evaluate the learning theories
- Learning theory has face validity, it makes sense when a baby cries more often when they learn that crying will give them food and attention
What does Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment suggest?
It suggests that children are born with an innate tendency to form attachments in order to increase their chances of survival
What are the stages of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment
Adaptive - Attachments are adaptive which means they give humans an advantage to be more likely to survive. If an infant has an attachment they can be protected and given food.
Social releasers - Social releasers can be physical such as baby faces or behavioural such as crying or cooing in order to gain attention. This unlocks an innate tendency in adults to care for them.
Critical period - Infants must form an attachment within the critical period of 3 to 6 months of age however some can form an attachment after this period which would be increasingly difficult. If an attachment did not form during this time frame, the child would be damaged for life socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically.
Monotropy - An intense attachment is called monotropy which is formed with their primary caregiver, usually their mother.
Internal working model - Within the monotropic attachment, the infant forms an internal working model which is a template for future relationship expectations. A strong, healthy relationship with the primary attachment figure can mean they will develop strong, healthy relationships in the future. Vice versa for negative relationships.
