explanations of attachment Flashcards
classical conditioning (learning theory)
learning to associate two stimuli together so we begin to respond to one in the same way as we already respond to the other
food serves as unconditioned stimulus- being fed gives us pleasure (unconditioned response), caregiver is neutral stimulus, when caregiver provides food they become associated with food, expectation of food, neutral stimulus become conditioned stimulus, sight of caregiver produces conditioned response of pleasure
conditioned response is love- attachment formed and caregiver becomes attachment figure
operant conditoning (learning theory)
learning from consequences of behaviour
cry for comfort- crying leads to response from caregiver, as long as caregiver provides correct response crying is reinforced, baby directs crying for comfort towards caregiver who responds with comforting social suppressor behaviour
reinforcement two way process
baby reinfoced for crying caregiver receives negative reinforcement because crying stops
interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment
attachment as a secondary drive (learning theory)
drive reduction
hunger-primary drive innate biological motivator, motivated to eat in order to reduce the hunger drive
sears-caregivers provide food, primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them, attachment is secondary drive learned by association between caregiver and satisfaction of primary drive
counter evidence from animal studies (learning theory eval)
lack of support from studies conducted on animals
lorenzs geese imprinted on first moving object they saw regardless of whether object associated with food
harlows monkeys-no support for importance of food, displayed attachment towards soft surrogate mother in preference to wire one which provided food
factors other than association with food are important in formation of attachment
counter evidence from studies on humans (learning theory eval)
lack of support from studies of human babies
schaffer and emerson-babies tended to form main attachment to their mother regardless of whether she was the one who fed them
isabella-high levels interactional synchrony predicted quality of attachment
factors not related to feeding
food not the main factor in formation of human attachments
some conditioning may be involved (learning theory eval)
elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment
unlikely association with food plays central role in attachment but conditioning may still play a role
baby may associate feeling warm and comfortable with presence of adult influence babys choice of their main attachment figure
learning theory may still be usful in understanding development of attachments
classical and operant conditioning explanations see baby playing relatively passive role in attachment development responding to associations with comfrot or reward
research shows babies take active role in interactions that produce attachment
conditioning may not be adequate explanation of any aspect of attachment
bowlbys monotropic theory
rejected learning theory- were it true an infant of a year or two should readily take to whomever feeds him and this is not the case
attachment innate system that gives survival advantage
attachment evolved as mechanism to keep young animals safe by ensuringthey stay close to adult caregivers
monotropy (bowlby theory)
emphasis on childs attachment to one particular caregiver
childs attachment to one caregiver is different and more important than others- calld this person the mother but was clear it did not need to be biological mother
more time a baby spent with mother figure the better
law of continuity- more constant and predictable a childs care the better the quality of their attachment
law of accumulated separation-effects of every separation from mother add up and the safest dose is a zero dose
social releasers and the critical period (bowlbys theory)
babies orn with set of innate cute behaviours like smiling cooing etc encourage attention from adults- social releasers
aim to activate adult social interaction and make adult attach to baby
attachment reciprocal process- both mother and baby hardwired to become attached
interplay between baby and adult attachment systems builds relationship between the two
critical period-6mths when infant attachment system active- sensitive period
child maximally sensitive at 6mths and extends up to 2yrs
iof attachment not formed in this time a child will find it harder to form one later
internal working model (bowlbys theory)
child forms mental representation of their relationship with their primary attachment figure- internal working model serves as model for what relationships are like
child whose first experience is of loving relationship with reliable caregiver will form expectation all relationships as loving and reliable bring qualitites to future relationships
child whose first experience involves poor treatment will form further poor relationships expect such treatment from others and treat them in that way
affects childs later ability to be parent themselves
people tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented
explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves
validity of monotropy challenged (bowlbys theory eval)
lacks validity
schaffer and emerson-babies did attach to one person at first, sigf minority formed multiple atachments at the same time
first attachment does appear to ahve strong influence on later behaviour may simple mean its stronger not different in quality from childs other attachments
other attachment sprovide same key qualities
may be incorrect that there is a unique quality and important to the childs primary attachment
support for social releasers (bowlbys theory eval)
evidence supporting role of social releasers
clear evidence cute baby behaviours designed to elicit interaction from caregivers
brazelton-observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers, researchers then instructed the babys primary attachment figure to ignore babies social releasers, babies became increasingly distressed and curled up and lay motionless
illustrates role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests that they are important in the process of attachment development
support for internal working model (bowlbys theory eval)
support for internal working model
predicts patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next
bailey-assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one year old babies, measured the mothers attachment to their onw primary attachment figures, assessed attachment quality of the babies, found mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies
supports ideas mothers ability to form attachments to their babies influenced by own internal working models
other important influences on social development
psychologists believe genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults
differences could impact on their parenting aility
bowlby may haveoverstated the important of the internal working model in socila behaiour and parenting at the expense of other factors
