Attachment

Attachment

1. The emotional bond that typically develops between an infant and its caregiver

2. Why do we form attachments?

   • SHORT TERM
     • Ensure their survival - they will be fed/looked after
   • LONG TERM
     • BOWLBY proposed that early attachments provide a template for us to build other attachments

3. How do attachments develop?

   • IMPRINTING - KONRAD LORENZ
     • Found that attachment occurs during a critical period
     • Found that this was between 13 and 16 hours after hatching for ducklings
       • Unlikely an attachment will be formed after 32 hours
     • STUDY
       • Lorenz got a group of geese eggs and split them
         • Half to be raised by the goose and half by Lorenz
         • The half that were raised by Lorenz, formed an attachment to him and were distressed when separated from him.
       • CRITICISMS
         • Study cannot be applied to humans

4. Explanations of attachment

   • Operant conditioning
     • When a child is cold and hungry it cries. This is PUNISHMENT for the mother
       • The child stops crying is a NEGATIVE REINFORCER for the mother (something unpleasant has been taken away)
         • The mothers behaviour of cuddling/feeding is likely to be repeated in the future
   • Classical conditioning
     • Food - US --> Baby feels pleasure - UR
       • Mother - NS + Food - US --> Baby feels pleasure - CR to mother
         • Mother - CS --> Baby feels pleasure - CR to mother
   • EVALUATION
     • The behaviourist explanation is reductionist - it takes a complex human behaviour and reduces it to simple terms
   • STUDY
     • HARLOW'S MONKEYS
       • Found that when monkeys were given a surrogate wire monkey (for food purposes) and a cloth monkey (for maternal purposes) - the monkeys preferred to spend time with the cloth monkey
       • Hard to generalise to humans as he used monkeys in the study

5. BOWLBY

   • 3 ways it promotes survival
     • SAFETY
       • Attachment keeps mother and child close to each other
     • SAFE BASE FOR EXPLORATION
       • The child is happy to explore knowing they have a safe base to return to
     • INTERNAL WORKING MODEL
       • Bowlby believes that the first relationship forms a template for what a relationship is. A child uses this to form other relationships later on in life
   • SENSITIVE PERIOD
     • A time when an attachment is most likely to be formed
       • Bowlby believed this was between 4 and 6 months for a human infant
   • SOCIAL RELEASERS
     • When children smile/make noise - it seems adults are primed to respond to these releasers by showing love/affection
   • CONTINUITY HYPOTHESIS
     • The internal working model ensures that early attachments are reflected in later relationship types
   • MONOTROPY
     • Bowlby believed many attachments can be formed - however, there is only one primary attachment
       • He believed that there was a hierarchy - with the primary caregiver at the top
   • EVALUATION OF BOWLBY
     • STRENGTHS
       • Has been very influential
       • Has been widely applied in practical situations
     • WEAKNESSES
       • Bowlby neglected the role of the father and siblings