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Explanations of attachment - Coggle Diagram
Explanations of attachment
Learning theory
Dollard and Miller (1950)
proposed it
Also called 'cupboard love' because it emphasises importance of attachment figure as food provider.
Classical conditioning
Food (unconditioned stimulus - UCS) produces pleasure.
Primary caregiver (neutral stimulus) becomes associated with food becoming a conditioned stimulus and producing pleasure (conditioned response)
Operant conditioning of infants
Crying is positively reinforced by attention
Operant conditioning of caregivers
Caregiver is also reinforced (negative reinforcement) because the crying stops - escaping from something unpleasant
Mutual reinforcement strengthens an attachment
Secondary drive
Concept of drive reduction
Hunger can be thought of as a primary drive, by eating, we reduce this drive
Sears et. al (1957)
: satisfaction of the primary hunger drive becomes associated with the caregiver.
Evaluation
Counter evidence from animal studies
Lorenz's geese imprinted on the first moving object seen
Harlow's monkeys attached to the soft surrogate in preference to the wire model with milk.
Both these studies show that imprinting/attachment did not develop as a result of feeding
CONCLUSION:
factors other than feeding are important in attachment formation
Counter-evidence from human studies
Schaffer and Emerson
: for many babies, their many attachement was not to the person that fed them.
Isabella et. al:
interactional synchrony predicted attachment quality.
CONCLUSION:
factors other than feeding are important in attachment formation
Some conditioning may be involved
Seems unlikely that association wtih food is central to attachment
BUT conditioning may still play a role in attachment.
Baby's choice of attachment may be determined by the fact that the caregiver becomes associated with warmth and comfort
CONCLUSION: conditioning could still be important in choice of attachment figure, though not the process of attachment formation.
COUNTER: ignores the fact that babies 👶 take an active role in the interactions that produce attachment
Feldman and Eidelman
: they initiate interactions
CONCLUSION:
learning theory may be inappropriate in explaining
any
aspect of attachment.
Bowlby's theory
Attachment is innate
Provides a survival advantage. Ensures young animals stay close to carers which protects them from harm
Monotropic
Having a primary attachment figure
Mono = 'one' Tropic = 'leaning towards'
This attachment is different from other and more important
Social releasers
Innate 'cute' 🥰 behaviours e.g. smiling 🙂 , cooing, gripping
Activate social interaction
Bowlby recognised attachment as reciprocal
Critical period
about 2 years - viewed as sensitive period
Child is maximally sensitive at 6 months - can extend to 2 years
Internal working model
Child forms mental representation of attachment with primary attachment figure - serves as a template in future
If first relationship is loving, child assumes that all relationships are loving
Internal working model may affect person's ability to parent themselves
Evaluation
Lacks validity
Relationship with primary attachment figure may be
stronge
r - rather than different in quality.
Other familly members may develop attachment with baby with same qualities
CONCLUSION:
Bowlby may have been wrong to suggest there is a unique quality to child's primary attachment figure
Evidence for social releasers
Brazelton et. al: instructed primary attachment figures to ignore babies' 👶 social releasers.
Babies who initially showed some distress, eventually curled up and lay motionless.
CONCLUSION:
supports the idea that social releasers play an important role in development
Support for the internal working model
Idea of internal working model predicts patterns of attachment throughout generations
Bailey et al.
: studied 99 mothers. Those with poor attachment to their parents were more likely to have one-year olds poorly attached to them.
CONCLUSION:
supports Bowlby's idea of an internal working model of attachment as being passed through families
COUNTER: other influences on social development
E.g. a baby's genetically influenced personality is important in development of social behaviour, including parenting style.
CONCLUSION: Bowlby overemphasised the importance of the internal working model in development