Explanations of attachment Flashcards
(23 cards)
what is meant by classical conditioning? what about in the case of attachment?
learning through association
infant learns to associate feeding/comfort with the primary caregiver/mother/food provider
the association between an individual and a sense of pleasure/comfort is THE ATTACHMENT BOND
explain how a child becomes attached to their food provider by using key terms for classical conditioning?
COMFORT/ PLEASURE APPLICABLE TO ALL
the UCS is food which elicits the UCR of comfort
the NS is the mother (food provider) and alone elicits no response
the NS of mother and UCS of food are paired to elicit UCR of comfort
this is repeated multiple times
a new SR unit is formed and mother becomes CS to elicit CR of comfort on their own
the association between the individual and the sense of pleasure/ comfort is the attachment bond
what is operant conditioning? what does it reinforce in terms of attachment?
learning through reinforcement
attachment bond is reinforced through it
explain how the attachment bond is reinforced through positive and negative reinforcement?
infant learns that crying brings positive response from adults (positive reinforcement)
adult learns that responding to cries etc. brings relief from noise (negative reinforcement)
the reward is food and this is the main reinforcer
the punishment for adult is crying and they want to avoid this
infant becomes attached to person supplying food
the mutual reinforcement strengthens the attachment bond
what is meant by attachment as a secondary drive in learning theory?
primary drive is hunger- we are motivated to eat to reduce the hunger drive
attachment is the secondary drive- as it is learned through association with the satisfaction if the primary drive (hunger)
what is the biggest limitation of the learning theory?
there is no research to support it!!
Harlow’s monkeys- monkeys preferred comfort from cloth mother not food which was provided by wire mother- they don’t attach to food provider
Lorenz’s geese- geese imprint when they hatch so form attachment before even being fed- shows attachment is innate rather than learnt
Schaffer and Emerson- primary attachment is to person most responsive to social releasers, not necessarily food provider
what is the evidence from real life which goes against learning theory?
if attachment was to food provider, many children would form primary attachments to nursery workers/ childminders but this isn’t usually case
learning theory can only explain limited formations of attachments
what is a strength of the learning theory?
some learning (conditioning) is involved in forming attachments
but learning theory should say the UCS is the comfort from the caregiver, as this would make it more valid, it isn’t just food.
what are the 6 concepts of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?
- attachment is innate
- social releasers
- monotropy
- critical period
- secure base
- internal working model
what is meant by attachment is innate?
biologically pre-programmed into children at birth for survival
it is passed on in genes
what are social releasers and how do they help children attach?
innate behaviours such as looking cute, cooing, smiling, crying
these elicit a response of caregiving from adults
what is meant by monotropy?
infants form a primary attachment to whoever responds best to their social releasers
what is meant by secure base?
the infant returns to the primary attachment figure for security when exploring the world
what is meant by the critical period for forming attachments?
if a child doesn’t form an attachment by 2.5 years, it will struggle to form one at all
there will be negative consequences for a child’s development
what is an internal working model?
a mental model of the world which helps a child to predict and control its environment
early attachment acts as a template for future relationships as it generates predictions about how people behave
e.g. a child who has a secure, loving relationship with its primary attachment figure will be more likely to feel secure in future relationships
what is the main strength of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?
there is PLENTY of supporting research
e.g. Lorenz, Harlow, Shaffer and Emerson, Bailey
how can Harlow’s research be used to support concept of critical period? counter?
if monkeys didn’t attach in 90 days, there was permanent irreversible damage such as being aggressive and less sociable
HOWEVER
the critical period for humans is 2.5 yrs, but this is considered more of a sensitive period than a critical period as there is evidence some children can form attachments after this time and have healthy development
how does Bailey’s research support internal working model?
Bailey assessed 99 mothers and quality of attachment to their babies (by observation) and to own mothers (by interview)
association found between poor attachment as a child and poor attachment with own children
shows a link between primary attachments and later relationships so supports IWM
HOWEVER, this relies on retrospective data (looking back) so memories of own attachments may be distorted
how can Bailey’s supporting research of the IWM be countered?
temperament hypothesis suggests that the link between early attachment and later relationships is more due to person’s temperament e.g. anxiety than being affected directly by IWM
i.e IWM is not the main reason for insecure relationships later in life
how does Schaffer and Emerson’s study support monotropy?
they found around 80% of babies form a primary attachment to mother by 7 months
supports Bowlby’s theory since it shows most children have one primary attachment, this is the idea of monotropy
how might Schaffer and Emerson’s study not fully support monotropy?
found 20-30% of children has multiple attachments so monotropy may not be as essential for attachment as Bowlby argues
monotropy also plays down importance of other attachments e.g. role of the father, suggesting they are less important
how does Lorenz’s study support the fact attachment is innate?
geese imprinted shortly after they hatch so they must have an instinct to attach- attachment in geese is innate
although humans don’t imprint, they do have biological instinct to attach- they emit social releasers from birth showing attachment is innate in humans
how is research into the monotropic theory of attachment socially sensitive?
if mother is mostly the primary attachment figure, suggests working mothers are harming children through repeated segregation when they go to work
could discourage mothers from going to work which is bad
