Explanations + Types of attachments

What is the learning theory? (Behaviourist approach)

Behaviour is not innate, but learned(can be due to associations being made between different stimuli(classical conditioning) or behaviour can be changed by reinforcing and punishing (operant conditioning))

What is classical conditioning?

Association between food and mother.

Food is UCS, produces an UCR (pleasure)

Mother is NS produces no response

Because she is paired with UCS (food) she slowly becomes associate with it until mother can be alone and produce UCR on her own (pleasure)

Mother now is CS and pleasure is CR

Learning/behaviourist theory suggests that attachment is set of learned behaviours. basis for learning of attachment is food provision. infant will form an attachment to whoever feeds it

they associate feeder with comfort of being fed, through classical conditioning come to contact with mother and comforting

What is operant conditioning?

Behaviours (crying, smiling) being desirable responses from others (attention, comfort). Operant conditioning learns to repeat these behaviours to get what they want. Positive reinforcement + negative reinforcement

What is the Social Learning Theory?

Emphasises reinforcement, but SLT emphasises tole of imitation. We watch others and if they are rewarded for their behaviour we are likely to copy it ourselves.

Hay + Vespo (1988) suggested that attachments develop because parents teach their children to love them through

modelling; children copy affectionate behaviour that they see between parents

Direct instruction: parents teach children to be  affectionate

Social Facilitation: parents watch children and encourage appropriate behaviour 

What is Bowlby’s Biological arguments for why attachments form?

“Children come into the work Biologically pre-programmed to form attachments for survival”

Produced evolutionary theory - attachment is innate and adaptive, all born with inherited need to form attachments and this is to help us survive. and behaviour that helps you survive to maturity and reproduce yourself, maintained in gene pool. mother inherits genetic blueprint - loving behaviour towards infant 

What are the 2 adaptive advantages that Bowlby thought about attachment?

Attachment promotes survival = increased chances of reproduction + passing on genes

1. Safety - attachment keeps mother + child close, separation results in feelings of anxiety

2. Safe base for exploration - child is happy to wander and explore (necessary for cognitive development) knowing it has a safe place to return to if things get bad. Develops independence necessary in later life

How does Bowlby’s evolutionary explanation explains how attachments form?

Babies are born with tendency to display certain innate behaviours (social releasers), helps ensure proximity + contact with mother or attachment figure.

social releasers = crying, smiling, crawling, (babies want to be close with them and look after them)

adults genetically primed to respond to the releasers by offering care and affection

What is monotropy?

children initially form only one primary attachment (monotropy) and that the attachment figure acted as a safe base for exploring the world

attachment relationship acts as a prototype for all future social relationships = disruption = severe consequences 

believed only one primary attachment would be formed

What is guaranteed care?

Quality of care and not quantity

mothers responsible for child’s needs and are constant and predictable

separation from mother makes child feel anxious and should be avoided

What is the critical period? And the new sensitive period?

Critical period - babies must form an attachment within first 2 years, or no attachment and risks of damaging socially, emotionally and intellectually.

Sensitive period - maximally sensitive up to age of 2, still possible to form attachment up to age of 5, however becomes more difficult for child to form first attachment after 2 years

What is the Internal working model?

A schema

provides template + set of expectations for future relationships,

Memory strategy for Bowlby’s evolutionary explaination?

So MAGIC!

So - Social releasers

M - Monotropy

A - Adaptive advantage

G - Good quality care

I - Internal working model

C - Critical/sensitive period