Explanations of attachment

• what is the learning theory of attachment?

  in 1950 dollard and miller proposed that attachment is learned through classical and operant conditioning by experience of being fed by caregivers.
• how is classical conditioning used in explaining attachment?

  UCS of food elicits the UCR of pleasure so when a caregiver (NS) is paired with the UCR for an extended period of time an association is made and the caregiver becomes a CS producing the same response of pleasure which is now a CR

  
  

  the CR represents a bond of attachment.
• How is operant conditioning used in explaining attachment?

  Babies cry for comfort and this behaviour is reinforced when caregivers provide the correct response e.g. feeding/holding.

  
  

  Babies then direct crying towards the caregivers who provides comfort.

  
  

  It is a two way process as babies are positively reinforced to cry with the reward of comfort and caregivers are negatively reinforced to provide comfort quickly with the threat of punishment being the baby crying for longer.

  
  

  This mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment.
• Explain the concept of secondary drives in explaining attachment.

  Robert Sears in 1957 proposed the concept that caregivers satisfy the primary drives (innate biological motivators) for babies and this feeling of satisfaction then becomes generalised to the caregiver. This means attachment is a secondary drive learnt by association.
• What are the two weaknesses for the learning theory of attachment?

  - animal research into the LT is contradictory.

  
  

  - human related research into the LT is contradictory.
• Elaborate on contradictory animal related research as a weakness for the LT.

  The main animal based experiments are Harlow and Lorenz, and neither support the importance of food.

  
  

  When given a choice Harlows monkeys displayed attachment behaviour towards the soft surrogate mother in preference to the wire one who provided food.

  
  

  This shows factors other than food hold importance in explaining attachments therefore the LT is not a comprehensive explanation.
• Elaborate on contradictory human related research as a weakness for the LT of attachment.

  Schaffer and Emerson 1964

  - found that babies tend to form attachment to mothers regardless of who feeds them.

  
  

  Russel Isabella et al 1989

  - found that caregiver - infant interactions predict attachment. The longitudinal study found that the achievement of interactional synchrony predicted the development of a good quality attachment.

  
  

  Metapelets

  - children don't form primary attachments to Israeli metapelets who acre and feed them daily, but form attachments to parents who offer infant-caregiver interactions.

  
  

  These suggest that other factors are more influential in forming attachments, suggesting the learning theory is no a comprehensive explanation.
• Elaborate on the idea that conditioning may not be present in forming attachments.

  Conditioning sees the baby playing a fairly passive role in forming attachments, simply responding to associations. However, research by Feldman and Edelman in 2007 shows that babies play an active role in forming attachments as they participate in the two way process of caregiver infant interactions and portray social releases during the alert phase.
• What does Bowlby think attachment is?

  Babies and caregivers have evolved to form attachments and are biologically pre programmed to do so in order to survive as infants are born underdeveloped and vulnerable.
• How and why does bowlby think attachments form?

  In 1988 john Bowlby proposed that babies and caregivers have evolved to form attachments and are biologically pre programmed to do so in order to survive as infants are born underdeveloped and vulnerable.

  
  

  He emphasised monotropy; the idea that the first attachment formed to the primary caregiver is unique and more important than any others and its quality is dependant on time spent together.

  
  

  Bowlby believed these attachments formed due to social releasers. These are innate behaviours that babies are born with e.g. smiling and gripping that serve the purpose of activating adult social interactions and encouraging attachment.
• What is the critical period and internal working model?

  If the primary attachment isn't formed in the critical period (6months-2years) then they will find it difficult to form one later which may lead to psychological damage.

  
  

  Bowlby suggested we all have internal working models which are schemas about attachments formed from those we form with primary caregiver and according to his continuity hypothesis these first attachments will impact all later relationships.
• What are the strengths of bowlbys monotropic theory?

  in 1952 Lorenz studied imprinting on geese and concluded that due to how quickly they formed attachments, it must be innate and biologically predetermined.

  
  

  In 1977 fox researched Israeli communal farms and found that despite spending lots of time and being fed by metapelets, children still formed a unique monotropic attachment to their mothers implying it is innately programmed in infants. Additionally, this theory explains why despite cultural variations in rearing children, primary attachments still form to biological caregivers.
• What are the weaknesses of Bowlbys monotropic theory?

  Research into attachment can be seen as socially sensitive. Despite the mother not explicitly states as the monotropic attachment figure, in 65% of cases it is. This applies pressure onto working mothers to delay there return from maternity, and blames them if there are any attachment abnormalities. Suggesting that the monotropic theory stigmatises "poor mothers" and pressures them to take responsibility.

  
  

  Conflicting evidence from Rutter in 1998 from Romanian orphanages shows that children beyond the age of 3 are capable to form attachments which suggests that the "critical period" is too strict. From this we have changes the "critical period" to the "sensitive period" that is now seen as the ideal but not necessary time to form attachments.
• What does Bowlby think attachment is?

  Babies and caregivers have evolved to form attachments and are biologically pre programmed to do so in order to survive as infants are born underdeveloped and vulnerable.
• How and why does bowlby think attachments form?

  In 1988 john Bowlby proposed that babies and caregivers have evolved to form attachments and are biologically pre programmed to do so in order to survive as infants are born underdeveloped and vulnerable.

  
  

  He emphasised monotropy; the idea that the first attachment formed to the primary caregiver is unique and more important than any others and its quality is dependant on time spent together.

  
  

  Bowlby believed these attachments formed due to social releasers. These are innate behaviours that babies are born with e.g. smiling and gripping that serve the purpose of activating adult social interactions and encouraging attachment.
• What is the critical period and internal working model?

  If the primary attachment isn't formed in the critical period (6months-2years) then they will find it difficult to form one later which may lead to psychological damage.

  
  

  Bowlby suggested we all have internal working models which are schemas about attachments formed from those we form with primary caregiver and according to his continuity hypothesis these first attachments will impact all later relationships.
• What are the strengths of bowlbys monotropic theory?

  in 1952 Lorenz studied imprinting on geese and concluded that due to how quickly they formed attachments, it must be innate and biologically predetermined.

  
  

  In 1977 fox researched Israeli communal farms and found that despite spending lots of time and being fed by metapelets, children still formed a unique monotropic attachment to their mothers implying it is innately programmed in infants. Additionally, this theory explains why despite cultural variations in rearing children, primary attachments still form to biological caregivers.
• What are the weaknesses of Bowlbys monotropic theory?

  Research into attachment can be seen as socially sensitive. Despite the mother not explicitly states as the monotropic attachment figure, in 65% of cases it is. This applies pressure onto working mothers to delay there return from maternity, and blames them if there are any attachment abnormalities. Suggesting that the monotropic theory stigmatises "poor mothers" and pressures them to take responsibility.

  
  

  Conflicting evidence from Rutter in 1998 from Romanian orphanages shows that children beyond the age of 3 are capable to form attachments which suggests that the "critical period" is too strict. From this we have changes the "critical period" to the "sensitive period" that is now seen as the ideal but not necessary time to form attachments.