Attachment

What is attachment?

An emotional reciprocal bond between 2 people in which each seeks closeness and feel more secure when in the presence of each other - infants will show being distressed when separated from the caregiver

What are caregiver-infant interactions like in humans?

Interactions between very young babies and their parents are baby led, with the adults responding to the behaviour of the baby

What are the 3 behaviours/characteristics that demonstrates attachment?

-Proximity --> staying physically close to the attachment figure
-Separation distress --> being upset when an attachment figure leaves
-Secure-Base behaviour --> leaving the attachment figure but regularly returning to them when playing

What are the 2 kinds of caregiver-infant interactions in humans

-Reciprocity
-Interactional synchrony

What is reciprocity?

Both infant and mother respond to each other's signals and each elicits a response from the other
E.G: the caregiver smiles at the baby and the baby smiles back

Studies supporting reciprocity

-Mothers typically pick up on and respond to infant alertness around 2/3 of the time (Feldman and Eidelman 2007)
-From around 3 months this interaction tends to be increasingly frequent + involves close attention to each other's verbal signals + facial expressions (Feldman 2007)
-Brazleton et al (1975) described this interaction as a 'dance' as there responding to each other.
-Jaffe et al. said that from birth, babies move in a rhythm when interacting with an adult almost as if they were taking turns as people do when having a conversation.

How does reciprocity impact an infant?

Reciprocity influences the child's physical, social and cognitive development. It becomes the basis for development of basic trust or mistrust, and shapes how the child will relate to the world, learn, and form relationships throughout life.

What is interactional synchrony?

Is when caregiver and infant mirror/imitate the same actions and emotions of the other in a coordinated (synchronised) way.
E.G: a caregiver who laughs in response to their infants giggling sound and tickles them, is experiencing synchronised interaction.

Studies supporting interactional synchrony

-(Feldman 2007) defined interactional synchrony as 'the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour'
-Meltzoff + Moore (1977)
-Isabella et al (1989)

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) Aim:

To examine caregiver-infants interactions (interactional synchrony) in infants as young as 2 weeks

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) Method:

(uncontrolled observation)
An experimenter displays (1 of 3) facial gestures such as sticking their tongue out, opening their mouth in shock, and manual gestures such as opening and closing their hand to infants between 12 and 21 days old.
The infant's response was filmed from different angles and identified by independent observers.

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) Results:

There was a correlation between the expression/gesture that the experimenter displayed and the infant's response. Later research by Meltzoff and Moore (1983) found the same findings in three-day-old infants.

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) Conclusions:

High levels of synchrony are associated with better quality mother-infant attachment.
Suggesting that interactional synchrony is innate and reduces the strength of any claim that imitative behaviour is learned.

Isabella et al (1989) Aim:

To assess the degree of synchrony in 30 infants and their mothers + also assessed the quality of the attachment between infants + mothers (supports meltzoff + moore)

Isabella et al. (1989) Method:

Isabella et al. (1989) observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed the degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-infant attachment

Isabella et al (1989) Findings:

Found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality attachments

(A03) Evaluation - research into infant-caregiver interactions --> STRENGTHS

> (well-controlled procedures)
Controlled observations in a controlled experimental setting with standardised procedures and operationalised behavioural categories with filming from multiple angles so fine details of behaviour can be analysed later High reliability as can be repeated to check consistency. + high external validity
> (well-controlled procedures)
These observations are less prone to demand characteristics as babies are unaware an experiment is taking place and thus will not change their response to observation --> so it'll have good validity.
> (potential value to society)
The identification of interactional synchrony as an important foundation in the formation of high-quality attachments could have practical applications that benefit society. Crotwell et al (2013) found that a 10 minute Parent-Child interaction therapy (PCIT) improved interactional synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and their pre-school infants compared to the control group. The findings suggest that research on interactional synchrony could lead to valuable methods for improving and developing mother-infant attachments (particularly in at-risk groups).

(A03) Evaluation - research into infant-caregiver interactions --> LIMITATIONS

< (hard to know what is happening when observing infants) Observations susceptible to observer bias as they require subjective interpretation from researchers who may perceive behaviour as being something else to what it really is, this can lower the validity. Observations only look at the changes in hand movements and gestures. It is very difficult to be certain that the moves or gestures etc, were actually deliberate or accidental, this reduces the value of the insight into caregiver-infant interaction + may not be able to establish cause + effect. < (observations don't tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity) Feldman(2012) points out that these studies don't tell us the purpose of synchrony or reciprocity, they simply state that it happens and don't imply anything about why and what the purpose is therefore this may not be particularly useful as many psychologists have thought to be previously. However, there is some evidence that reciprocity and interactional synchrony are helpful in the development of mother-infant attachment, stress responses, empathy, language and moral development. < (research into mother-infant interactions is socially sensitive) Conducting research into mother-infant interactions is controversial as it states that certain people may be at a disadvantage for certain reasons. Specifically, mothers going back to work shortly after a child is born which restricts the opportunities for achieving interactional synchrony, therefore the research suggests that mothers should not return to work so soon and has socially sensitive

Schaffer's stages of attachment;
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) Aim:

To investigate the formation of early attachment, in particular the age at which they developed, their emotional intensity, and to whom they were directed. - the different stages of attachment

Schaffer's stages of attachment;
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) Method:

Observational (longitudinal study)
Studied 60 babies in working class families from Glasgow- 31 males + 29 females. Researchers visited the babies and their mothers at their homes at monthly intervals for the first year of the baby's life and a final time once the babies were 18 months old.
Two types of behaviour were looked at stranger anxiety (measured by asking the mothers questions about their children's anxiety response to unfamiliar adults.) and separation anxiety (e.g: adult leaving the room)- a measure of separation anxiety, designed to measure the infant's attachment.

Schaffer's stages of attachment;
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) Findings:

- Between 25 and 32 weeks of age, 50% of babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult, usually the mother showing specific attachment; with stranger anxiety occurring in most babies approximately one month later.
-Attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was the most interactive and sensitive to infants signals and facial expressions, not necessarily the person the infant spends most time with. --> sensitive
-By the age of 40 weeks 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments

Schaffer's stages of attachment;
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) Conclusions:

The results of the study indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately + quickly to the baby's signals, not the person they spent more time with. Schaffer and Emerson called this sensitive responsiveness. The most important fact in forming attachments is not who feeds and changes the child but who plays and communicates with him or her. Therefore, responsiveness appeared to be the key to attachment.
Attachment develops in stages and that they were able to identify 4

Stranger Anxiety

signs of discomfort when around a stranger and ability to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people

Separation Anxiety

signs of discomfort when the caregiver moved to another room, showing the development of an attachment bond

Schaffer's stages of attachment:
Asocial stage (0-6 weeks of age)

-The baby is recognising and forming bonds with its carers.
-However, the baby's behaviour towards non-human objects and human is quite similar
-Some preferences for familiar adults (more easily calmed by them)
-Babies are also happier in the presence of other humans
During this stage, reciprocity + interactional synchrony plays a role in establishing the infant's relationship with others

Schaffer's stages of attachment: Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)

-Babies display more observable social behaviour.
-Preference for people rather than inanimate objects, and recognise and prefer familiar adults.
-Babies usually accept comfort from any adult and do not show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
-Their attachment behaviour is indiscriminate because it is Not Different towards any one person.

Schaffer's stages of attachment:
Specific attachment (from around 7 months)

-Majority of babies start to display stranger anxiety + separation anxiety when separated from one particular adult (biological mother in 65% of cases)
Baby is said to have formed a specific attachment with the primary attachment figure.
-This is in most cases the person who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby's 'signals' with the most skill - not necessarily the person who spends the most time with the infant

Schaffer's stages of attachment: Multiple attachments (up to one year)

-Babies start to show attachment behaviour towards one adult but they usually extend this attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults who they regularly spend time with. —> these are called secondary attachments
-In Schaffer and Emerson's study, 29% of babies had secondary (multiple) attachments within a month of forming a primary (specific) attachment. By the age of one year the majority of infants had multiple secondary attachments

(A03) Evaluation - Schaffer's research into attachment--> STRENGTHS

> (high ecological validity/ mundane realism)
Has high ecological validity as children were studied in their own homes so its a natural setting, and theres high mundane realism as strangers visiting the home would have been a fairly normal occurrence for the babies, as would have been the caregiver leaving the presence of the infant so can be more easily generalised to the population

(A03) Evaluation - Schaffer's research into attachment --> LIMITATIONS

< (lacks external + population validity) The study used only white, working class Scottish babies from Glasgow, so cannot be generalised to babies of other classes or cultures (or even babies living in other cities in Scotland) so lacks external validity < (temporal validity) Study was carried out in the 1960s so now may lack temporal validity as childrearing practices have changed significantly over the last 50 year < (overt observation) Research was conducted as an overt observation study, means that participants knew they were being studied thus may have influenced their behaviour

(A03) Evaluation - Schaffer's stages of attachment--> STRENGTHS

> (longitudinal study)
The same children were followed up and observed regularly, when the quicker alternative would have been to observe different children at each age, this is called a cross-sectional design
But instead a longitudinal design was carried out which has better internal validity because they do not have the confounding variable of differences between participants(participant variable).
> (greater internal validity)
By incorporating self-report into the study researchers were able to use the process of triangulation (using two different research methodologies -interview and self-report- and finding the same results), so greater internal validity.

(AO3) Evaluation - Schaffer's stages of attachment --> LIMITATIONS

< ( problem with how multiple attachment is assessed)\ Just because a baby is distressed when an individual leaves a room does not necessarily means that the individual is a 'true' attachment figure, Bowlby (1969) pointed out that children may feel distressed when a playmate leaves the room, but this does not signify attachment to them. Therefore Schaffer + Emerson's view of stages does not distinguish between behaviour shown towards secondary attachment figures + towards playmate. < (problem studying asocial stage) Schaffer + Emerson describe the first few weeks as the 'asocial' stage, although important interactions take place in those weeks. But young babies have poor co-ordination and are generally quite immobile, making it difficult to make judgements based on observations of their behaviour. + this does not mean the child's feelings and cognitions are not highly social but due to the flawed method the evidence suggests that they appear asocial

Multiple attachments

Multiple attachments are attachments to two or more people. Research has shown that most babies are able to form multiple attachments once they have formed a specific attachment to their main caregiver.

Primary attachment figure

The person whom an infant is intensely attached. They are the person a child responds to most intensely at separation. Usually the mother, but other people can fulfill the role

Secondary attachment figure

A person that an infant receives additional support from. They provide an emotional safety net

father's role

in attachment research, the father is anyone who takes on the role of the main male caregiver.
This can be but is not necessarily the biological father

attachment figures;
multiple attachment/role of the father findings

S+E found that majority of babies became attached to the mother first (around 7 months), + within a few weeks/months formed secondary attachments to other family members, inc father. Therefore, research suggests that the primary attachment figure is more likely to be the mother than the father,
65% were the mother and only 3% of the primary attachment figures were the father. 75% of the infants studied, an attachment was formed with the father by the age of 18 months. This was determined by the fact that the infants protested when their father walked away - a sign of attachment (separation distress/anxiety).
Therefore, fathers have an important role in terms of attachment even if they are the secondary attachment

By 18 months 31% had five or more attachments. The multiple attachments formed by most infants vary in their strength and importance to the infant. Attachments are often structured in a hierarchy, whereby an infant may have formed three attachments but one may be stronger than the other two, and one may be the weakest.

Attachment figures;
The importance of the father

infants turn to mother to seek comfort + nurturing; they turn to fathers for play --> suggesting fathers have a different role in attachment
Grossman (2002) carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents' behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children's attachments into their teens. Quality of infant attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to children's attachments in adolescents, suggesting that father attachment was less important.
Therefore, showing fathers may be less important long-term in terms of emotional development.
However, the quality of father play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment - one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturing

Attachment figures;
Fathers can be primary attachment figures

Some evidence suggests that when fathers do take on the role of being the main caregiver they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers. Tiffany field (1978) conducted research which compared the behaviours of primary caretaker mothers with primary and secondary caretaker fathers. Face-to-face interactions were analysed from video footage with infants at 4 months of age. Overall, it was observed that fathers engaged more in game playing and held their infants less. But primary caretaker fathers engaged in significantly more smiling, imitating and holding than did secondary caretaker fathers and these were comparable with mothers' behaviour. Suggests that men who take on the role of primary caregiver can change their interactional style to be more like that of a mother in terms of comfort and sensitive responsiveness. Therefore the key to a relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.

attachment figures;
Why the mother and father roles might be different

It's possible that most men are not psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment because they Lack the Emotional Sensitivity that women offer.
May be due to biological or social factors. Fathers do not become primary attachment figure could be the result of traditional gender roles, in which women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men. Therefore, some fathers simply don't feel they should act like that.
However, it could be due to female hormones, such as oestrogen, creating higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically predisposed to be the primary attachment figure.

(AO3) Evaluation - Attachment figures; Role of the father --> LIMITATIONS

< (undermines the idea of fathers having distinct roles) Grossman(2002) found that father as secondary attachment figures had an important + distinct role in their children's development, involving play and stimulation. Other studies (e.g McCallum and Golombok 2004) found that children growing up in a single or same-sex parent families don't develop differently from those in 2-parent families. Suggesting that the father's role as a secondary attachment figure is not important. < (inconsistent findings on fathers) Some psychologists want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures. But others are more concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure. As some have said fathers behave differently from mothers and have a distinct role, however other have found that fathers are able to adapt and can take on a 'maternal' role, therefore is a limitation as psychologists can not easily answer a simple question as to 'what the role of the father is' < (why aren't fathers generally primary attachments) Could be due to traditional gender roles, where women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men; therefore fathers may feel they don't < (economic implications) Mothers feel pressured to stay at home because of research that says mothers are vital for healthy emotional development. In some families this may not be the best solution economically. However, could be of comfort for mothers who feel they have to make a choice about not retuning back to work > (biological predisposition) fathers are not biologically equipped to be a sensitive care giver, different hormones in men + women may play a role e.g: women produce oestrogen underlies caring behaviour making women more suited to form attachments Hardy (1999) found that fathers were less able to detect low levels of infant distress, in comparison to mothers

Animal studies of attachment

Looks at the formation of early bonds between non-human parents and their offspring--> allows psychologists to understand attachment in humans:
~Practical --> time-efficent, study constantly...
~Ethical --> shorter life span, no need to explain experiment + de-brief them...
~Evolutionary --> humans are descendants from animal ancestors, retain same logical + psychological traits/charateristics

Animal studies of attachment;
Implications for humans

-Babies do not imprint instantly like birds, but the SAME Concepts and importance of attachments holds true
-Bowlby developed a theory of attachment which suggests that there is a critical period for developing attachment in humans (2yrs)
-If an attachment has not developed during this period, then the child will suffer from Irreversible Developmental Consequences e.g: lower IQ, increased aggression...

Animal studies of attachment;
Imprinting

An innate readiness to acquire certain behaviours during a critical or sensitive period of development.
-> specific at-first attachment

Animal studies of attachment;
Lorenz (1935) Aim:

To investigate the mechanism of imprinting (following and forming attachments to the first large moving object)

Animal studies of attachment;
Lorenz (1935) Method:

Lorenz randomly divided 12 goose eggs, half hatched with the mother goose in the natural environment, and the other half hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz. To test the effect of imprinting Lorenz mixed the 2 groups however the control group continued to follow the mother and the experimental group followed Lorenz

Animal studies of attachment;
Key features of imprinting

Lorenz noted that the key features of imprinting were:
- irreversible + long-lasting
- must occur within a given time frame --> critical period
- influences male selection --> animals choose to mate with a similar object to which they imprint on (sexually)

Animal studies of attachment;
Lorenz (1935) Findings:

The reason for when even both control + experimental groups were mixed up they followed the first person they saw once they had hatched is called imprinting- whereby bird species that are mobile from birth attach to and follow the first moving object they see. Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place, 12-17 hours. If imprinting does not occur within that time Lorenz found that chicks did not attach themselves to a mother figure, this is irreversible and long-term and could affect mate selection (sexual imprinting), which occurs whereby the bird acquires a template of the desirable characteristics required in a mate. In a case study, Lorenz (1952) described a peacock whos first moving object after hatching were giant tortoises and as an adult would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises. Lorenz concluded that this meant he had undergone sexual imprinting.

Animal studies of attachment;
Lorenz (1935) Conclusion:

Lorenz concluded that the process of imprinting is a strong biological feature of attachment in certain birds, and that imprinting occurs based on the first object rather than on other cues such as scent or sound. This would explain why goslings imprint after a matter of minutes due to their increased mobility; human babies are born immobile and therefore there is less call for them to form an attachment straight away, and so, this develops later (7-9 months). It supports the view that having a biological basis for an attachment is adaptive as it promotes survival. The longevity of the goslings' bond with Lorenz would support the view that, on some level, early attachment experiences do predict future bonds

(AO3) Evaluation - Animal studies of attachment- Lorenz (geese) --> LIMITATIONS

< (generalising findings + conclusions from birds to humans) The mammalian attachment system is quite different from that in birds, e.g a mammalian mother shows more emotional attachment to their young, this means that it is not appropriate to generalise Lorenz's ideas to humans. < (Lorenz's observation + conclusions have been questioned) Guiton (1966) found that chickens imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults. But with experience they learned to mate with their own kind, this study suggests that the effects of imprinting are not as long-lasting as Lorenz believed

(AO3) Evaluation - Animal studies of attachment - Lorenz (geese) --> STRENGTHS

> (support for the concept of imprinting)
Guiton (1966) found that chicks imprinting on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults. Suggesting that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object presented in the critical widow of development. Suggests there is an innate mechanism causing a young animal to imprint on a moving object during in the critical period of development.

Animal studies of attachment;
Harlow (1958) Aim:

Wanted to study the mechanisms by which newborn rhesus monkeys bond with their mothers.
Behavioural theory of attachment --> suggests infant would form an attachment with a carer that provides food
Contrastively, harlow believes that attachment develops as a result of the mother providing 'tactile comfort', suggesting that infant have an innate (biological) need to touch + cling to something for emotional comfort

Animal studies of attachment;
Harlow (1958) Method:

Harlow tested the idea that a soft object serves some of the functions of a mother. In an controlled environment, Harlow reared 16 rhesus monkeys with 2 wired models ' surrogate mothers'. In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain wire mother and vice versa with the cloth-covered mother in the 2nd condition.
As a further measure of attachment-like behaviour, the reactions of the monkeys to more frightening situations were observed. Harlow and his colleagues continued to study the monkeys who had been deprived of their 'real' mother into adulthood.

Animal studies of attachment;
Harlow (1958) Findings:

Both groups of monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother in preference to the wire one, and sought comfort from the cloth surrogate mother when frightened regardless of which one was dispensing milk. This showed that 'contact comfort' was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour.
For a monkey to develop normally, they must have some interaction with an object to which they can cling during the first few months of life (during critical period 90 days)

Animal studies of attachment;
Harlow (1958): Maternally deprived monkeys as adults

Then Harlow observed the difference between monkeys who had grown up with surrogate mothers and those with normal mothers into adulthood to see if this early Maternal Deprivation had a permanent effect = Severe Consequences
Monkeys reared with wired mothers only were the most dysfunctional --> more aggressive + sociable
when mothers themselves they neglected + often attacked + sometimes killed their own offspring; but even those whos surrogate mothers were cloth-covered did not develop normal social behaviour. They were more aggressive + less sociable + less skilled in mating.

Animal studies of attachment;
Harlow (1958) critical period for normal development

These behaviours were observed only in the monkeys who were left with the surrogate mothers for more than 90 days, after this attachment was impossible and the damage done by early deprivation became irreversible. For those left less than 90 days the effects could be reversed if placed in a normal environment where they could form attachments.

Animal studies of attachment;
Harlow (1958) Conclusion:

Harlow concluded that "contact comfort" (provided by the cloth mother) was more important than food in the formation of attachment. disproving learning theory the behaviourist theory of attachment. This also shows that contact comfort is preferable to food but not sufficient for healthy development. He also concluded that early maternal deprivation leads to emotional damage but that its impact could be reversed in monkeys if an attachment was made before the end of the critical period. However if maternal deprivation lasted after the end of the critical period then no amount of exposure to mothers or peers could alter the emotional damage that had already occurred. Harlow found therefore that it was social deprivation rather than maternal deprivation that the young monkeys were suffering from. When he brought some other infant monkeys up on their own, but with 20 minutes a day in a playroom with three other monkeys, he found they grew up to be quite normal emotionally and socially.

(AO3) Evaluation - Animal studies of attachment Harlow (rhesus monkeys) --> LIMITATIONS

< (ethics of this research) Rhesus monkeys are similar enough to humans for us to generalise findings, which also means their suffering was presumably human-like. Harlow himself was aware of the suffering caused. He referred to the wire mothers as 'iron maidens' named after a medieval torture device. The counter-argument is that Harlow's research was sufficiently important to justify the procedures --> cost/benefit analysis < ( generalising from monkeys to humans) Although monkeys are more similar to humans than Lorenz's geese as brain structures + share 95% of dna so they are more similar, but they are not humans therefore there findings + conclusions can not be extrapolated + applied to complex human behaviours. unlikely that observations of rhesus monkeys clinging to cloth-covered wire models reflects the emotional connections + interactions that characterises human attachments For example, human babies develop speech-like communication which may have influenced the formation of attachments. Therefore, it is difficult to agree to what extent the studies of non-humans can be generalised to humans.

(AO3) Evaluation - Animal studies of attachment Harlow (rhesus monkeys) --> STRENGTHS

> (important practical applications)
It has helped social workers understand risk factors in child abuse and so intervene to prevent it (Howe 1998). We also now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes in the world, the usefulness of Harlow's research increases its value.
> (theoretical value)
Harlow's findings have had a profound effect on psychologists' understanding of human mother-infant attachment. Most importantly Harlow showed that attachment does not develop as the result of being fed by a mother figure but as a result of contact comfort. Harlow showed us the importance of the quality of early relationships for later social development including the ability to hold down adult relationships and successfully rear children.

Animal studies of attachment;
critical period

the time frame in which imprinting must occur

Animal studies of attachment;
contact comfort

physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from being in physical contact with its mother

Animal studies of attachment;
imprinting

the idea that some species attach to the first moving object they see when they are born.

Animal studies of attachment;
sexual imprinting

a process whereby mate preferences are affected by learning at a very young age, usually using a parent as the model

Animal studies of attachment;
maternal deprivation

The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute. can cause serious damage to emotional and intellectual development.

Explanations of attachment;
Learning theory

learning theory is a set of ideas from the behaviourist approach.
Behaviourism is used to help us understand how the environment has an effect on a person's behaviour
Dollard + Miller (1950) proposed that caregiver-infant interaction can be explained by learning theory, also known as the 'cupboard love' approach, this is because it emphasis the importance of caregiver as a provider of food in attachment formation. Children learn to love whoever feeds them.
Early behaviourists identified 2 key ways of learning: Classical conditioning + Operant conditioning

Explanations of attachment;
Classical conditioning

Learned by Association.
When two stimuli are presented multiple times, such as food (unconditioned stimulus) and the mother (neutral stimulus), the feeling of pleasure (unconditioned response) starts to become associated with the mother, so the mother becomes the conditioned stimulus and pleasure becomes the conditioned response. So pleasure now happens whenever the mother appears --> becomes a reflex response.
to a learning theorist this is love
Supported by Pavlov

Explanations of attachment;
Operant conditioning

Learned to repeat behaviour or not, through the Consequences.
If a behaviour produces a pleasant consequence, that behaviour is likely to be repeated again. --> the behaviour has been reinforced.
if a behaviour produces an unpleasant consequence it is likely to be repeated. Operant conditioning explains why babies cry for comfort ( an important building block for attachment). Pleasurable consequences for crying such as receiving food act as positive reinforcement, therefore crying when hungry is more likely to happen. Also stopping crying (removing the negative stimulus) by providing food works as negative reinforcement for parents, making it more likely that parents will provide food the next time the baby cries.
Support by Skinner

Explanations of attachment;
Positive reinforcement

Is a process that strengthens the likelihood of a particular response by adding a stimulus after the behavior is performed
e.g: child gets praise from parent for good school grades
Which increases the likelihood of a target behaviour occurring again

Explanations of attachment;
Negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement also strengthens the likelihood of a particular response, but by removing an undesirable consequence. Is where instead of being rewarded with an item for making positive choices, an item or stimulus is removed after a specific behavior is shown.
e.g: a child cleans their room to avoid nagging parents
Which increases the likelihood of a target behaviour occurring again

Explanations of attachment;
Positive punishment

Something is Added to Decrease the likelihood of a behaviour
e.g: Parents scolding a child for fighting with their sibling.

Explanations of attachment;
Negative punishment

Something is Removed to Decrease the likelihood of the behaviour
E.g: child losing iPad privileges after refusing to eat their vegetables

Explanations of attachment;
Primary drives

learning theory draws on the concept of drive reduction
hunger is an example of primary drive as it the desire instinctive / innate according to behavioural psychologists as they are based on a biological need
we are motivated to eat to reduce our hunger drive

Stimulus

anything internal or external that brings about a response

Response

any reaction in the presence of the stimulus

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

a stimulus that produces a reflex (innate) action

Unconditioned response (UCR)

A stimulus which does not naturally produce a response

Neural stimulus (NS)

an innate reflex response

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

the new stimulus which produces the learned response

Conditioned Response (CR)

a learned response

Explanations of attachment;
Secondary drives

desires to complete actions that develop due to a learned process (i.e desiring money), in which they are associated with a satisfying primary drive such as food. This would class attachment as a secondary drive as it is learnt by association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive.

(AO3) Evaluation - Explanations of attachment; Learning theory --> LIMITATIONS

< (animal studies provide evidence against food as the basis of attachment) Lorenz's imprinted geese imprinted maintained attachments regardless of who fed them. Harlow's monkeys attached to a soft surrogate in preference to a wire one with milk. In both these animals studies, attachment did not develop as a result of feeding. The same must be true for humans, that food does not create the attachment bond, as learning theorists believed that animals + humans are equivalent. < (human research also shows that feeding is not an important factor) S+E (1964) showed that for many babies a primary attachment was not to the person who fed them. This shows that feeding is not the key element to attachment and so there is no unconditioned stimulus or primary drive involved. The evidence suggests that other factors are more important than food in the formation of attachment. < (LT ignores other factors linked with attachment) Research shows that quality of attachment is associated with developing reciprocity and good levels of interactional synchrony. Studies also show that the best quality attachments are with sensitive carers who pick up infant signals and respond appropriately. It is very hard to reconcile these findings with the idea that attachment develops primarily through feeding. < (Newer learning explanation based on social learning theory (SLT)) Hay and Vespo (1988) suggest that parents teach children to love them by modelling attachment behaviours (e.g: hugging them + other family members). And also by rewarding them with approval when they display their own attachment behaviours (e.g thats a lovely smile...etc) In this version, babies have learnt attachment behaviours as a result of their interactions, which fits with research on the importance of interactional synchrony and reciprocity. < (theory is reductionist) learning theory of attachment signifies you can instantly form attachments just from feeding, however Harlow + Lorenz have contradicting evidence signifies that they may have simplified concepts decreasing the validity of the theory

(AO3) Evaluation - Explanations of attachment; Learning theory --> STRENGTHS

< (face validity) Learning theory is a clear and believable explanation for attachment , and the underlying theories on which it is based are backed up by significant amounts of well-controlled research. Also the theory has face validity. It 'makes sense' that babies would cry more if they learnt that it would gain them attention. < (scientific validity) the plausible theory is established from scientific basis such as Pavlov's study which improves the credibility of the learning theory as there is no clear application to explain how attachments are formed, thus suggests that the theory has high scientific validity

Explanations of attachment;
Bowlby's monotropic theory

Bowlby rejected learning theory as an explanation for attachment, because he said, 'were it true, an infant of a year or 2 should take readily to whomever feeds him and this is clearly not the case' (1988).
Bowlby instead proposed a evolutionary explanation of attachment; it states that babies have an innate attachment drive in order to survive, as security results in survival advantages.
This is shown by the fact that babies will stay close to the caregiver (usually the mother) for safety. Bowlby's theory is based on Lorenz's theory of imprinting and Harlow's contact comfort theories.
He put forward 2 principles;
~ Law of continuity--> states that the more constant + predictable a child's care, the better the quality of attachment
~ Law of accumulated separation --> stated that the effects of every separation from the mother add up 'and the safest dose is therefore zero
therefore, attachment is a biological process, and caregiving is an evolutionary behaviour that has developed through natural selection

Explanations of attachment;
Bowlby's explanation of attachment elements

- Adaptive
- Social releasers
- Critical Period
- Monotropy
- Internal working model
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Explanations of attachment;
Adaptive

babies have an innate, biological drive to become attached to ensure survival through 'adaptivee advantage' , due to evolutionary processes.

Explanations of attachment;
Social releasers

Bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of physical features such as big eyes, button nose to appear cuter, as well as behavioural features such as innate 'cute' behaviours like smiling, cooing and gripping that encourages the attention from adults. He called these social releasers as their purpose is to activate / release the innate tendency in adult attachment system
i.e. make an adult feel love towards a child. He also noticed this behaviour was a reciprocal process. Both babies and mothers have innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers.

Explanations of attachment;
Critical period

Bowlby proposed that there is a critical period for attachment. Attachment must happen in the first 2 - 2 ½ years after birth when the infant attachment system is active. Bowlby viewed this as more of a sensitive period; if an attachment is not formed in this time, a child will find it harder to form one later on and be damaged socially, emotionally, intellectually + physically.
making it harder to form attachments within the future

Explanations of attachment;
Monotropy

Monotropy is the unique strong singular attachment that infants have to a single, particular caregiver (usually the mother / primary attachment figure). + believed that the child's attachment to this caregiver is different and more important than others.

Explanations of attachment;
Internal working model

Bowlby argued that the child through the monotropic attachment the relationship with their primary (first) attachment figure which is crucial as it affects the nature of their future relationships as, form a mental representation of this relationship, forms the internal working model serves as a 'template' for what relationships are like. due to the influence of the internal working model created by that first attachment
This lead to the Continuity Hypothesis, hypothesis that individuals who are securely attached in infancy continue to be socially + emotionally competent and that relationships are likely to be continuation of early attachment
A child whose first experience is a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are loving and reliable, as they'll assume thats how all relationships are meant to be. They will then seek out functional relationships + behave functionally within them. However, a child whose first relationship involves poor treatment may expect such treatment from others --> mean they may struggle form relationships or behave appropriately in them
The internal working model may also affect the child's later ability to be a parent themselves.

Explanations of attachment;
Secure infants attachment

Securely attached infants tend to go onto form the best quality of child friendships (Kerns 1994)
Securely attached infants less likely to be involved in bullying whereas insecure-avoidant children are most likely to be victims + insecure-resistant are most likely to be bullies (Myron-Wilson + Smith 1998)

Explanations of attachment;
Internal working model affects on parenting

Affects people parenting style as it is based on their internal working model, so attachment types tends to be passed on through generations of a family.

(AO3) Evaluation - Explanations of attachment; Bowlby's monotropic theory --> STRENGTHS

> (support for the idea of an internal working model)
The idea of internal working models predicts that patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next. Bailey et al (2007) studied 99 mothers those with poor attachment to their own parents were more likely to have one-year-olds who were poorly attached. Supporting Bowlby's idea of an internal working model of attachment as it is being passed through families, according to observations.
> (evidence to support the existence + value of social releasers)
Brazelton et al (1975) instructed primary attachment figures to ignore babies' social relesers, babies who were previously shown to be normally responsive initially showed some distress, but eventually curled up and lay motionless. This supports Bowlby's ideas the significance of infant social behaviour eliciting caregiving from adults and the role of releasers in initiating social interactions.

(AO3) Evaluation - Explanations of attachment; Bowlby's monotropic theory --> LIMITATIONS

< (Bowlby may have overemphasised the role of attachment) An alternative explanation is that the chid's temperament (the child's genetically influenced personality) is important in the development of social behaviour. Temperament researchers suggest that some babies are more anxious and some more sociable than others as a result of their genetic makeup (Kagan 1982). Tempermental differences rather than quality of attachment can explain their social behaviour. < (monotropy is socially sensitive due to the implications for mothers' lifestyle) The law of accumulated seperation states that having substantial time apart from a primary attachment figure risks a poor quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of ways. Feminists ( Burman 1994) argued that mothers are blamed for anything that goes wrong in a child's life and pushes mothers into making lifestyle choices, e.g: not returning back to work when a child is born, however this wasn't Bowlby's intention. He saw himself as boosting the status of mothers by emphasising the importance of their role. < (evidence for montrophy is mixed) Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that most babies did attach to one person at first, but a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time. Contradicting Bowlby's assertion that babies form one attachment to primary caregiver and that this attachment is unique. Attachment to mothers (not fathers) better predicts later behaviour, but this may be because mother is the primary attachment, not the different attachment quality. internal working model suggests that early childhood relationships act as a template for future adult relationships --> continuity hypothesis < (theory supports nature view) Internal working model suggests that early childhood relationships act as a template for future adult relationships --> continuity hypothesis suggests that adult relationships are to some extent determind by IWM which is an innate mechanism shaped by our early relationship experience. suggests an interaction of nature + nurture is critical when considering the effects of early attachments + the internal working model

Ainsworth's Strange Situation;
Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation (1978) Aim:

To measure the security/quality of attachment a child shows towards their caregiver --> + measures different forms of infant attachment

Ainsworth's Strange Situation;
Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation (1978) Method:

It is a controlled observation (i.e laboratory, with a one-way mirror/video recording - psychologists observe and record infants' behaviour) procedure designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver - 100 American mothers and infants (12-18 months).
Series of 8 structured 'situations' in a specific order, each lasting for 3 minutes
The behaviours used to judge attachment included:
~ Proximity seeking --> an infant with good attachment will stay fairly close to caregiver
~Exploration + secure-base behaviour --> good attachment enables a child to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base
~Stranger anxiety --> one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches
~Separation anxiety --> another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from caregiver
~Response to union --> with the caregiver after separation got a short period of time under controlled conditions

Ainsworth's Strange Situation;
Stages of Ainsworth's Strange Situation

Stage 1 - Caregiver and child enter unfamiliar playroom
Stage 2 - The child is encouraged to explore
Stage 3 - Stranger enters and talks briefly to the mum, then attempts to interact with the infant
Stage 4 - Mothers leaves while the stranger is present
Stage 5 - Mother enters and the stranger leaves
Stage 6 - Mothers leaves
Stage 7 - Stranger returns and interacts with infant
Stage 8 - Mother returns and interacts with child, stranger leaves

Ainsworth's Strange Situation;
Behaviours used to judge attachment

-Proximity seeking
-Exploration and secure base
-Stranger anxiety
-Separation anxiety
-Response to reunion
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Ainsworth's Strange Situation;
Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation (1978) Findings:

Ainsworth found that there were 3 distinct patterns in the way that infants behaved, which she called attachment types.
Attachment types seemed to depend on the level of sensitive responsiveness of the parent = caregiver sensitivity hypothesis

~Type A = 'avoider' Insecure-avoidant (20-25% UK infants)
--> associated with unresponsive primary care. The child comes to believe that communication of needs has no influence on the mother/ father

~Type B = 'best' Secure (60-75%)
--> associated with sensitive + responsive primary care from
caregiver

~ Type C = 'clingy' Insecure-resistant (3% UK infants)
--> associated with inconsistent primary care. Sometimes the child's needs are met and sometimes are ignored by mother/father. Mother puts her own needs before that of the child.

Ainsworth's Strange Situation;
Secure Attachment (Type B)

These children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base). They show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety. Require + accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage.
60- 75% of British toddlers

Ainsworth's Strange Situation;
Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A)

These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and they make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns. They also show little stranger anxiety. They do not require comfort at the reunion stage
20-25% british toddlers