explanations of attachment

• Contradictory evidence to bowlby’s monotropic theory is Schaffer and Emerson’s study that shows the importance of multiple attachments
• the learning theory of attachment emphasises the importance of the attachment figure being the provider of food (cupboard love)
• contradictory evidence for learning theory of attachment is harlows research which showed monkeys sought comfort over food
• what is the internal working model?


  a blueprint/mental representation for future attachments, based off of how their relationship with their primary caregiver is
• learning theory of attachment (dollard&miller) - food is the primary drive of attachment - classical and operant conditioning can explain attachment formations
• classical conditioning in learning theory of attachment:

  food is the Unconditioned Stimulus associated with pleasure and the carer is the Neutral Stimulus

  overtime as carer continues to feed child they become the Conditioned Stimulus (associated with pleasure) - this is how the attachment forms
• operant conditioning in learning theory of attachment:

  Child cries because they are hungry, caregiver feeds them, removing the unpleasant feeling of hunger = baby is negatively reinforced

  Caregiver finds the cries of the child unpleasant so feeds them, removing the unpleasant sound = caregiver is negatively reinforced
• Lorenz's animal studies conducted on geese contradicts the learning theory of attachment. The geese imprinted to the first object they saw regardless of food. Additionally, Harlow's monkeys favoured the surrogate mother who provided comfort rather than food. HOWEVER, these are animal studies so generalisability to humans cannot be done
• Schaffer and Emerson found that most babies formed a primary attachment to their mother, regardless if she was the one that usually fed them - opposing learning theory of attachment
• bowlby argues infants have an innate drive to form one especially strong attachment to their mother (monotropy)
• infants use instinctive signals known as social releasers (crying, smiling etc) to attract the caregivers attention - promoting reciprocity which forms a stronger monotropic attachment
• bowlby believed there was a sensitive/critical period in which the child needed to form the monotropic attachment (6months - 2years) - if attachment is not formed in this time frame bowlby believed there would be permanent negative consequences
• supportive evidence for bowlby's explanation: Bailey et al

  assessed attachments with 99 mothers and their 1 year old babies, measuring the mothers attachment to their attachment figure and the quality of attachment with their baby.

  mothers who were poorly attached to their attachment figure were more likely to have poorly attached babies - supporting the idea of the internal working model being a blueprint for future relationships
• Bowlby's theory was based on Lorenz's findings of a critical period of attachment/imprinting in geese - however later research on orphans suggests this is more of a sensitive period in humans - decreasing the validity of bowlbys original concepts
• Harlows research supports the idea of a critical period -

  • Harlow also found that the monkeys had developmental issues, they were less skilled at mating and tended to be socially reclusive - shows the importance of an attachment being formed in the critical period 
• • Internal working model- mental schema for future relationships, based off our perceptions of the attachment we have with our primary attachment figure
• During the critical period, infant's brains are particularly sensitive to social stimuli, facilitating the establishment of secure attachment relationships