Explanations of Attachment

Explanations of Attachment

1. Learning Theory

   • Children learn to become attached because caregiver gives them food "cupboard love"
     • Can be due to associations made from stimuli (classical conditioning) or patterns of reinforcement and punishment (operant conditioning)

2. Classical conditioning

   • neutral/unconditioned/ conditioned stimulus
     • Unconditioned/conditioned response

3. Operant conditioning

   • Dollard and Miller - hungry infant reducing discomfort
     • Primary/secondary reinforcers
     • two types of conditioning combined
       • will produce desirable responses and associate the caregiver with feelings of pleasure
         • Shaffer & Emerson found fewer than 1/2 of infants had a primary attachment- they fed them
           • Harlow's research feeding < contact comfort
             • Lorenz's geese imprinted before feeding and maintained regardless of who fed them
               • Hay and Vespo suggest attachment can be explained by SLT- due to imitation and modelling
           • other factors such as reciprocity, interaction synchrony and sensitive responsiveness
   • Positive/negative reinforcement

4. Bowlby's mono tropic theory/internal working model

   • Bowlby opposes learning theory (nurture) argues it's inherited (nature)
     • result of evolution, adaptive
       • chid helpless at birth, adult care-close to mother helps it to survive
         • Main features: attachment is adaptive - ensures safety
           • Innate social releasers-born with releasers e.g. crying, smiling
             • Critical period- attachment should take place, amended to sensitive period of 3year occur after 1year
               • monotropy- one special attachment needed, could be mother
                 • Law of continuity: >constant and predictable care > attachment
                   • Law of accumulated separation- effects of every separation add up/better to have none
                     • Internal working model- set of conscious/unconscious rules re relationships with others
                       • attachments in early life affect later relationships, support from Hasan and Shaver

5. Evaluation of Bowlby

   • adoption agencies place infant asap to max attachement
   • Hodges and Tizard criticises critical period, can be up to 7 years
   • Shaffer and Emerson criticised monotropy- children can develop more than one attachment
     • Personality may affect attachments
   • Shaffer- no. of attachments bring psychological advantages
     • Bowl by suggests mother should be main carer
   • Dunn- internal working too general
     • Child picks carer on best communicator not time spent
     • Brazelton- ignore social releasers