Explanations of Attachment

Question 1

What is the learning theory?

Answer 1

• Suggests attachment happens because the infant associates the caregiver with food.
• Classical conditioning and operant conditioning apply to the development of attachment.

Question 2

When does classical conditioning happen?

Answer 2

When a response produced naturally by stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus.

Question 3

How are attachments learned through classical conditioning?

Answer 3

The food produces a natural response of pleasure being paired with a caregiver.

Question 4

What is the unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 4

The food.

Question 5

What is the unconditioned response?

Answer 5

The natural response of pleasure.

Question 6

What is the conditional stimulus?

Answer 6

The caregiver.

Question 7

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 7

When any action with a pleasurable outcome is repeated, the behaviour will also be repeated.

Question 8

How are attachments learned through operant conditioning?

Answer 8

The caregiver has become associated with the reduction of hunger and has become the source of the reinforcement themselves.

Question 9

What is the negative reinforcement?

Answer 9

The reduction of hunger.

Question 10

What did Dollard and Miller (1950) find regarding the learning theory?

Answer 10

• Babies are fed 2,000 times in their first year usually by the main carer.
• Gives opportunity for the carer to become associated with the reduction of hunger.
• Thus supporting attachments being formed through operant conditioning.

Question 11

What did Schaffer and Emerson (1964) find regarding the learning theory?

Answer 11

• Found in 39% of cases the mother, usually the main carer, was not the infant’s main attachment figure.
• Suggests that food was not the primary explanation for attachment.

Question 12

What are the weaknesses of the learning theory?

Answer 12

• Cannot explain more complex behaviour behaviours such as attachment.
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) suggests that the learning theory provides an inadequate explanation.
• Reductionist as it explains complex behaviours in simple ways without taking into account cognitive processes for the emotional nature of attachment.

Question 13

What is Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory?

Answer 13

Evolution is the primary explanation for attachments and proposes an internal working model which is used to form all bonds after the primary attachment.

Question 14

How has evolution influenced attachment?

Answer 14

• Infants become genetically programmed to behave in particular ways towards their parents that increase their chance of survival.
• Infants have developed social releases.

Question 15

What are social releases?

Answer 15

Innate behaviours that infants have developed to make sure they are cared for and protected.

Question 16

What are examples of social releases?

Answer 16

• Crying.
• Looking, smiling and vocalising.
• Following and clinging.

Question 17

Why do infants cry?

Answer 17

To attract parents’ attention.

Question 18

Why do infants look, smile and vocalise?

Answer 18

To maintain parental attention and interest.

Question 19

Why do infants follow and cling to their parents?

Answer 19

To gain and maintain physical proximity.

Question 20

How do social releases appear?

Answer 20

• To begin with they are automatic and triggered by many people.
• They become focused on fewer people within the first year.

Question 21

What is the complimentary system?

Answer 21

Attachment develops only if caregivers respond to social releases in a meaningful way.

Question 22

Who did Bowlby say the complimentary system happens between?

Answer 22

• Generally between infants and their biological mothers.
• Occasionally happens with fathers or non-biologically related individuals.

Question 23

What is the critical period?

Answer 23

Bowlby’s belief that attachment behaviours between the infant and caregiver must take place within a certain time period.

Question 24

What happens when attachment behaviours occur after the critical period?

Answer 24

They give little purpose and are useless.

Question 25

What is the Internal Working Model?

Answer 25

Attachment to a single individual is the first and strongest bond to develop and forms a model for all future relationships.

Question 26

What pieces of research argue against Bowlby’s theories?

Answer 26

• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that multiple attachments are the norm, disputing Bowlby’s theory of monotropy.
• Rutter (1981) discovered that infants form a range of attachments with many individuals, disputing Bowlby’s theory of monotropy.
• Lamb et al. (1982) discovered that infants form multiple non-hierarchial attachments for different purposes.

Question 27

What are the strengths of Bowlby’s theories?

Answer 27

• The continuity hypothesis is supported by research evidence.
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that whilst infants have multiple attachments, they also have one primary attachment figure, supporting Bowlby’s theory of monotropy.

Question 28

What are the weaknesses of Bowlby’s theories?

Answer 28

• Imprinting applies to precocial species but humans are altricial species thus imprinting might not relate to humans.
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that attachments happened mainly with individuals displaying sensitive responses, disputing Bowlby’s suggestion that attachment is a form of human imprinting.
• Research disputes Bowlby’s view of fathers as minor attachment figures.