explanations of attachment

• learning theory links attachment to fufilment of needs
• learning theory uses operant and classical conditioning
• classical - learning associations between different things in our environment - food and pleasure - food and mother - pleasure and mother
• operant conditioning - negative reinforcement - feel discomfort when hungry - mother removes that
• dollard and miller - operant conditioning and attachment
• strenghts of learning theory - support
• crit learning theory - reductionsit
• crit learning theory - evidence from animal studies
• bowlbys theory of attatchemtn is an evolutionary theory -
• we have evolved to need to attatch to our main caregiver - survival into childhood
• monotropy - we create one important attachment - this provides a safe base giving us the opportunity to explore
• creation of an iwm - template for all future relationships - based on first attachment
• there is a critical period for attachment - first 3 years - if an attachment doesn't develop it can harm the childs development
• maternal deprivation - when the attachment is disrupted to stopped durign critical period - long term consequences
• pro bowlby - study support - lorenz
• crit bowlby - evidence against - schaffer and emerson - form many attachments
• crit of bowlby - perpetrated sterotypes about mothers role