explanations of attachment

• Learning theory of attachment

  • Attachment is not innate
  • Attachment is learned
  • Attachment depends on who feeds the baby i.e. 'cupboard love'
• Classical conditioning


  1. Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

  2. Unconditioned response (UCR)

  3. Conditioned stimulus (CS)

  4. Conditioned response (CR)

  5. Neutral stimulus (NS)
• The unconditioned stimulus produces an unconditioned response
• If the unconditioned stimulus is paired enough times with a neutral stimulus, then over time the neutral stimulus will become the conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response will happen
• How classical conditioning works with infants and attachment

  1. Infant is hungry (UCS)

  2. Food gives infant pleasure (UCR)

  3. Primary Care Giver (PCG) provides food (NS)

  4. PCG becomes conditioned stimulus

  5. Pleasure becomes conditioned response

  6. Attachment begins as infant wants PCG around
• Operant conditioning


  • We learn via punishments and rewards
  • Positive reinforcement
  • Negative reinforcement
  • Primary reinforcer
  • Secondary reinforcer
• How operant conditioning works with infants and attachment

  1. Infant learns they can receive attention from PCG if they cry, laugh, giggle etc (positive reinforcement)

  2. Infant repeats these behaviours as they are rewarded

  3. Child learns they can get what they want from PCG

  4. PCG is also rewarded as negative reinforcer is removed (infant stops crying)
• Primary drive


  Something the infant needs, biologically, to survive, such as food
• Secondary drive


  A stimulus that reinforces behaviour after it has been associated with the primary drive
• Attachment begins when the infant forgets about the primary drive and looks for the secondary drive- the PCG
• Bowlby's monotropic theory


  • Attachment is innate and we are pre-programmed to attach and become attached to our offspring as it is vital to our survival
  • Monotropy - we only ever really form one main attachment in life
• Bowlby's key ideas


  • Innate - we are born with the ability to attach
  • Critical Period - period we must form an attachment within (9 months to 3 years)
  • Continuity - the attachment you have in your infancy will impact later relationships
  • Social releasers - behaviours the infant performs to attract attention
  • Internal working model - schema about ourselves and our relationships
• Critical Period


  Idea that an attachment has to take place within a certain time scale, otherwise it will never happen
• Rutter found children in Romanian orphanages were able to attach at ages well above 3, challenging Bowlby's critical period
• Sensitive Period


  Ideal to attach in the first 2.5 years but not essential, attachments can develop later
• Internal Working Model (IWM)

  Internal representation of how we see ourselves and how we expect others to react to us, formed in early childhood
• Continuity


  The idea that the attachment you have in your infancy will impact later relationships
• Secure attachment and IWM

  • Infant feels loved and worthy of love, expect to be treated well in later life
• Insecure Avoidant Attachment and IWM

  • Infant feels ignored, expect to be rejected, remain aloof in relationships
• Insecure Resistant Attachment and IWM


  • Infant had to make a fuss to get attention, become clingy and possessive in later relationships
• Mary Main found a link between childhood attachment styles and adult attachment styles, supporting the IWM