Explanations of attachment

Question 1

What is the learning theory of attachment?

Answer 1

• Children learn to become attached to their caregiver because they provide them with food
• There are two types of learning (Classical and Operant conditioning)

Question 2

What is classical conditioning in relation to learning theory of attachment?

Answer 2

• Infants learn to associate caregiver (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus) providing them with pleasure (unconditioned response)
• The NS and UCS being repeatedly paired makes the caregiver (UCS) the conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response of pleasure
• This creates an attachment bond

Question 3

What is operant conditioning in relation to learning theory of attachment?

Answer 3

• Infants typically fed when they cry
• Thus learn crying for caregiver will take away negative feeling of hunger (negative reinforcement) strengthening communication and bond
• Caregiver also receives negative reinforcement as feeding baby removes unpleasant sound of crying (further strengthening emotional bond)

Question 4

Outline the strength of the learning theory of attachment

Answer 4

• Plausible and grounded in established scientific theory
• Received a lot of supporting evidence (Pavlov’s and skinner’s animal research and Watson and Rayner’s human little albert research)
• Strength since considered likely that association between provision of needs (being fed) and person providing those needs (primary caregiver) can result in strong attachments
• Adds credibility to learning theory of attachment

Question 5

Outline one limitation of the learning theory of attachment (has two)

Answer 5

• Received substantial opposing evidence
• Schaffer and Emerson found that over half of infants they studied were not attached to person who fed them
• Harlow study found monkeys raised in isolation were more attached to comfort mother than food mother
• Challenges learning theory of attachment because monkey should’ve attached more to mother with food according to it (questioning validity)
• Received further opposing evidence
• Lorenz study on imprinting of goslings suggests attachments are innate and not learned
• However argued that because infants are immobile at birth (unlike goslings) they rely more on caregiver for survival
• Limitation because difference in nature and complexity of attachments between goslings and human infants may mean infants more likely to display learned behaviors like crying and smiling so primary caregiver gives food
• Therefore possible learning theory of attachment more applicable to human infants

Question 6

Outline final limitation of learning theory of attachment

Answer 6

• Criticised for bing environmentally reductionist
• Attempts to explain complex and highly emotional attachment between infant and caregiver as result of stimulus-response links
• Limitation because research into infant-caregiver interactions has found that various other factors play a role in formation and quality of an attachment like reciprocity and interactional synchrony (positive correlation)
• These findings difficult to apply to learning theory of attachment because if attachment developed purely as a result of stimulus-response associations regarding feeding, wouldn’t expect to see relationship between strength of attachment and complex social interactions like reciprocity and interactional synchrony
• Questions appropriateness of learning theory’s reductionist approach to explaining attachment

Question 7

What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?

Answer 7

• Attachment is an adaptive behaviour
• Evolved through natural selection in order to aid infant’s survival
• To encourage attachment, infants believed to be born with social releasers like crying and smiling
• Helps to ensure an attachment takes place within critical period of 2 years
• If critical period is not met, child will find it difficult to form attachment and could seriously damage child’s social and emotional development
• Considered monotropic as great emphasis placed with attachment to one particular caregiver (most important attachment)
• Monotropic attachment determine’s child’s internal working model (future relationships)
• Monotropic attachment also impacts child’s future parenting ability (references their own parents)

Question 8

Outline one strength of Bowlby’s monotropic theory

Answer 8

• Received substantial supporting evidence
• When investigating imitation, Meltzoff and Moore found infants as young as 12 days old could imitate both the facial and manual gestures displayed by adults
• Strength since ability to imitate social releaser is innate aiming to form an attachment
• Further supporting evidence
• Lorenz research where goslings imprinted within a critical period of 32 hours (supports idea that attachment is innate biological process that happens within critical period)
• Hazan and Shaver created love quiz to assess relationship between infant attachments and later romantic relationships
• Infants securely attached developed secure, stable and loving adult relationships (Not securely attached meant higher risk of divorce later on)
• Strength of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment because supports the existence of internal working model formed on the basis of individual’s monotropic attachment as a child
• These studies add credibility to Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

Question 9

Outline one limitation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 9

• Opposing evidence to Bowlby’s focus on a monotropic attachment
• Schaffer and Emerson demonstrated importance of multiple attachments at around 9 months where infants extend their attachment behaviour to multiple adults like grandparents
• Found that 75% of infants form secondary attachment with father by 18 months who have a different and important role as exciting playmate
• Found that children growing up without a father are at higher risk to performing worse in school and engaging in aggressive behaviour and delinquency
• Limitation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment because it suggests that multiple attachments are important in an infants life
• Questions appropriateness of Bowlby’s focus on monotropic attachment

Question 10

Outline final limitation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 10

• Resulted in negative economic and social implications
• Bowlby’s emphasis on the importance of monotropic attachment (mother) meant mothers discouraged for going to work
• This would reduce productivity in the work place and reduce contributions in the form of income tax etc (negative implications on economy)
• Negative future relationships from a result of poor internal working model may put mothers at the blame of the cause of it (negative social implications)
• Questions the appropriateness of this theory of attachment