Explanations of attachment

Question 1

what is the learning theory of attachment?

Answer 1

behaviour acquired through experience via association, attachments formed as infant associates caregiver with feeding

Question 2

what is classical conditioning (cc)?

Answer 2

occurs when a response produced naturally by a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus that isn’t normally associated with the particular response

Question 3

how do attachments form through cc?

Answer 3

before learning - food(ucs) - pleasure (ucr)
during learning - food (ucs) + caregiver (cs) - pleasure (ucr)
after learning - caregiver (cs) - pleasure (cr)

Question 4

what is operant conditioning (oc)?

Answer 4

learning via reinforcement of behaviour, increasing the chances of the behaviour occurring again

Question 5

what are positive & negative reinforcement?

Answer 5

positive reinforcement - receiving something pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour
negative reinforcement - not receiving something non-pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour

Question 6

give examples of positive & negative reinforcement

Answer 6

PR - receiving pocket money for doing chores
NR - not being grounded for tidying your room

Question 7

how do attachments occur through oc?

Answer 7

through caregivers becoming associated with reducing unpleasant feeling of hinger (negative reinforcement) so that the caregiver becomes a source of reward

Question 8

what is Dollard and Miller’s research on the learning theory?

Answer 8

in their 1st year, babies are fed 2000 times, by main carer, which creates opportunity for the carer to become associated with the removal of the unpleasant feeling of hunger.

Question 9

give evaluations for the learning theory of attachment

Answer 9

conditioning best explains learning of simple behaviours but not more complex behaviours with an intense emotional component.
reductionist - explain complex behaviours in the simplest way possible, when explaining attachments as down to feeding, it doesn’t consider cognitive processes or the emotional nature of attachments.
Bowlby - babies only need food sometimes, but need emotional security that closeness to an attachment figure provides all the time - suggesting learning theory & food isn’t main reason for formation of attachments

Question 10

what is Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?

Answer 10

attachment behaviours developing during the Stone Age era where humans faced constant danger of predators, so attachments evolved via natural selection to ensure that offspring stayed close to caregivers - so became genetically programmed to behave towards their mothers in ways that increased their survival chances

Question 11

what are the social releasers that Bowlby argues infants have to caregiver to increase survival chances?

Answer 11

crying - to attract attention
looking, smiling, vocalising - to maintain parental attention & interest
following & clinging - to maintain proximity

Question 12

who was Bowlby heavily influenced by?

Answer 12

Harlow & Lorenz’s animal studies to suggest emotional bonds had evolutionary functions

Question 13

how do attachments form using Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

Answer 13

attachments only form if carers respond to infant attachment behaviours in a meaningful way, although he argued this occurs with mothers, he admitted it could occasionally occur with their fathers

Question 14

what did Bowlby see attachment functioning as?

Answer 14

a control system to maintain proximity to the mother - when this occurs the infants have no need to cry or cling & so play & explore - when state is threatened attachment behaviours are activated to restore it

Question 15

what is Bowlby’s critical period?

Answer 15

critical period for attachments to form where attachments between infant and carer must occur within this time if children are to form attachments

Question 16

when is Bowlby’s critical period?

Answer 16

attachment behaviours are useless for most children if delayed until after 12 months & useless of all children after 2 & 1/2 - 3 years

Question 17

what is Bowlby’s internal working model?

Answer 17

a template for future relationships based on the infant’s primary attachment, which creates a consistency between early emotional experiences & later relationships

Question 18

what did Bowlby say in his internal working model about primary attachments?

Answer 18

infants have a tendency to become attached to one particular adult, its first to develop and strongest of them all, usually the mother, and although they could form attachments to others, he saw these as secondary attachments

Question 19

what is Rutter’s research that doesn’t support Bowlby’s idea of monotropy?

Answer 19

found that mothers aren’t special in the way Bowlby believed - infants display a range of attachment behaviours towards attachment figures other than their mothers and there isn’t a articular attachment behaviour used specifically for mothers

Question 20

give evaluations for Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 20

sees fathers as minor attachment figures but research shows that fathers can be attachment figures.
imprinting may not relate to humans.