psychology explanations for attachment Flashcards
what is classical conditioning (learning theory)
learning to associate two stimuli together so that we begin to respond to one in the same way as we already respond to the other
food serves as unconditioned stimulus, caregiver starts as neutral stimulus, when caregiver provides food they become associated with food becoming conditioned stimulus, the sight of caregiver gives conditioned response of pleasure and love- attachment is formed and caregiver becomes attachment figure
what is operant conditioning (learning theory)
learning from consequences of behaviour, if behaviour produces pleasant consequence it is likely to be repeated-reinforced behaviour,
can explain why babies cry for comfort, crying leads to response from caregiver as long as caregiver provides correct response crying is reinforced, baby starts to direct crying for comfort towards caregiver who responds with comforting social suppressor behaviour,
reinforcement two way process, at the same time as the baby is reinforced for crying caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops-escaping from something unpleasant is reinforcing, interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment
what is attachment as a secondary drive (learning theory)
drive reduction-hunger is primary drive its innate biological motivator motivated to eat in order to reduce 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
what is the counter evidence from animal studies evaluation points (learning theory)
lack of support from studies conducted on animals
lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw regardless of whether this object was associated with food
harlows research with monkeys displayed attachment behaviour towards soft surrogate mother in preference to wire one which provided with milk
factors other than association with food are important in form of attachments
what is the counter evidence from studies on humans evaluation point (learning theory)
lack of support from studies of human babies
schaffer and emerson-tended to form main attachment to mother regardless of whether she was the one who usually fed them
isabella-high levels of interactional synchrony predicted quality of attachment-not related to feeding
food not the main factor in formation of human attachments
what is some conditioning may be involved evaluation point (learning theory)
elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment
seems unlikely association with food plays central role in attachment but conditioning may still play a role
baby might associate feeling warm and comfortable with particular adult presence and this may influence the babys choice of their main attachment figure
learning theory still useful in understanding development of attachments
classical and operant conditioning explanations see baby playing passive role-simply responding to associations with comfort or reward
research shows babies take active role in interactions that produce attachment
conditioning may not be adequate explanation of any aspect of attachment
what did bowlby say about attachment
innate system that gives survival advantage
evolved as a mechanism to keep young animals safe by ensuring they stay close to adult caregivers
what is monotropy (bowlby)
childs attachment to one particular caregiver
believed childs attachment to one particular caregiver is different and more important than others-called this person the mother but was clear that it did not need to be biological or a woman at all
believed more time a baby spent with his mother figure the better
law of continuity-the more constant and predictable a childs care the better quality of their attachment
law of accumulated seperation-effects of every seperation from the mother adds up and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose
what are social releasers and critical period
babies born with set of innate cute behaviours like smiling cooing that encourage attention from adults-purpose is to activate adult social interaction and so make an adult attach to the baby
attachment-recipricol process both mother and baby hardwired to become attached
interplay between adult and baby attachment systems gradually builds the relationship between baby and caregiver
critical period around 6months when infant attachment system is active
sensitive period-maximally sensitive at 6months up to 2 years if attachment isnt formed in this time a child will find it much harder to form one laterw
what is the internal working model
child forms mental representation of their relationship with their primary attachment figure-serves as model for what relationships are like
child whose first experience is of loving relationship with reliable caregiver will tend to form expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable and they will bring these qualities to future relationships
child whose first relationship involves poor treatment will tend to form further poor relationships in which they expect such treatment from others and or treat others 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, children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves
what is the validity of monotropy challenged evaluation point (bowlby)
lacks validity
schaffer and emerson-although most people did attach to one person at first a signf minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
although first attachment does appear to have particularly strong influence on later behaviour this may simply mean it is stronger not different in quality from childs other attachment
may be incorrect that there is unqiue quality and importance to childs primary attachment
what is support for social releasers evaluation point (bowlby)
evidence supporting role of social releasers
cute baby behaviours designed to elicit interactions with adults using social releasers
brazelton-observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers, researchers instructued the babies primary attachment figures ingore their babies social releasers, babies become increasingly distressed and curled up and lay motionless
role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests that they are important in process of attachment development
what is the support for internal working model evaluation points (bowlby)
support for internal working model
predicts patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next
bailey-assessed attachment relationships in 99mothers and their one yr old babies
researchers measured mothers attachment to their own primary attachment figures and attachment quality of the babies, they found that mothers with poor attachment to their primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies
supports bowlbys idea that mothers ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their internal working models
other important influences on social development
some psychologists believe that genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults
differences could also impact on their parenting ability
bowlby overstated importance of the internal working model in social behaviour and parentng at the expense of other factors
