Explanations of attachment

• It's hard to argue that there isn't something special about the attachment between an infant and their primary caregiver who's usually their biological mother
• Attachment bond


  Innate bond that develops quickly between infants and caregivers
• Biological psychologists


  Argue that attachment bond is innate
• Behaviorist perspective


  Infants attach to caregivers primarily for food
• Parents' love for infants may be relief that the baby has stopped crying
• Cupboard love theory


  Learning theory explanation for attachment based on classical conditioning
• Classical conditioning


  Learning by association
• Pavlov found dogs would associate the sound of a neutral stimulus with food
• Classical conditioning in attachment

  1. Neutral stimulus (mom)

  2. Unconditioned stimulus (food)

  3. Unconditioned response (pleasure)

  4. Conditioned stimulus (mom)

  5. Conditioned response (pleasure)
• Unconditioned stimulus


  Stimulus that produces an instinctual response
• Operant conditioning


  Learning through patterns of reinforcement
• Positive reinforcement


  Adding a stimulus to increase behavior
• Negative reinforcement


  Removing a stimulus to increase behavior
• Infants cry and parents provide milk, which acts as positive reinforcement
• The removal of an unpleasant stimulus (crying) is negative reinforcement
• Primary drives


  • Sleep
  • Hunger
  • Thirst
  • Sex
• Secondary drives


  Learned drives that satisfy primary drives
• Attachment is a secondary drive
• Face validity


  Theory that makes intuitive sense
• Learning theory is supported by well-controlled animal research
• Large scale conditioning research on human infants hasn't been conducted for ethical reasons
• Environmental reductionism is a criticism of learning theory
• Harlow's research counters cupboard love theory
• Monotropic theory


  Biological explanation for attachment suggesting an instinctive drive to form close relationships
• Monotropic attachment is crucial for survival
• Social releases


  Innate behaviors like crying and smiling that draw caregiver's attention
• Humans have a critical period for forming a primary attachment in the first 30 months after birth
• Failure to form a primary attachment in the critical period can lead to lasting negative impacts
• Internal working model


  Relationship blueprint formed from the first attachment
• Consistent care results in a stronger attachment bond
• Safe base behavior indicates a solid attachment
• Significant recovery is possible with appropriate care
• Bowlby's theory has reshaped early child care practices
• Bowlby's theory has faced criticism for perpetuating gender biases
• Monotropy may not hold up well today due to evolving family dynamics
• Counter theories exist to evaluate Bowlby's evolutionary perspective
• Bowlby's concept of the internal working model can be seen as deterministic
• Individuals may not have autonomy over their relationships
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• This man has influenced the world we live in today in areas such as education, parenting, and child care