Explanations of Attachments

Explanations of Attachments

1. Learning Theory

   • Classical Conditioning
     • Food (UCS) -> Happy baby (UCR)
       • Mother (NS) + Food (UCS) -> Happy baby (UCR)
         • Mother (CS) -> Happy baby (CR)
   • Operant Conditioning
     • Positively reinforcement -> doing something to get a reward.
       • Negative reinforcement -> doing something to avoid punishment.
         • Punishment -> Something bad.
   • Dollard & Millard
     • Combines the two types of conditioning. Infants are reinforced in the behaviours that will produce desirable responses.
     • They learn to associate the caregiver with the feeling of pleasure (being fed).
       • Schaffer & Emerson
         • Being fed is not a key factor to making attachments.
     • "Cupboard love"
   • Lorenz
     • Lorenz found attachments were initial -> didn't depend on who fed them.

2. Bowlby's Evolutionary theory

   • Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristic of a organism over time. (adaptive)
   • Attachments are programmed into humans, operate similarly in all cultures. (innate)
   • Monotropic theory
     • (S) Social releasers -> make people want to care for them.
       • Brazleton-> If parents ignores these, babies get distressed.
     • (A) Adaptive -> increases chances of survival
     • (C) Critical period -> have to form attachments by 2 1/2.
     • (M) Monotropy -> forms one special attachment with the mother.
       • Mixed evidence / socially sensitive
     • (() Internal Working Model -> child's future relationships will be affected.
       • Bailey et al -> parents that have poor attachments with their parents form poor attachments with their own kids.
     • ASCMI
   • Temperament may play a role