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Attachment
Learning theory, Lorenz's geese imprinting, Harlow's monkey experiments etc
40
Psychology
Not Applicable
12/13/2011

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Term

The nature of attachment and its development.

Attachment can be defined as:

Definition

A strong and reciprocal emotional bond with another person.

Term
This is particularly evident in the attachment of babies to their mothers or other major caregivers
Definition
Term
Macoby (1980) suggested that there are 4 key behaviours that indicate an attachment has been formed:
Definition
  • seeking to be near the attachment figure
  • being distressed when seperated from them
  • showing pleasure when reuinted with them
  • orientation towards them, being aware of their presence cand frequently making contact with them
Term
Shaffer and Emerson have described attachment as taking place in 3 stages:
Definition

indiscriminate attachment:

  • up to about 6 months
  • it doesn't matter who is holding the baby
  • baby smiles at anyone and protests when put down, whoever is holding them
Term

specific attachment:

  • from 7 months to a year
  • 1 specific attachment emerges (mother/caregiver)
  • in earlier period - becomes distressed when seperated from this person (seperation anxiety) and is wary of strangers (stranger anxiety)
Definition

Multiple attachments:

  • from a year onwards
  • attachment to another person is shown, and then to a number of people who are important in the child's life.
Term
Explanations of attachment
Definition

several theories have been put forward to try to explain why infants form attachments

Term
Learning Theory
Definition

the Behaviourist perspective in psychology believes that all behaviour is learned through:

  • classical
  • operant conditioning
Term
classical conditioning. (page 12)
Definition
  • Watson was interested in the link between an event in the environment (a stimulus), and the behaviour that follows (a response)
  • behaviourism is sometimes known as S.R (stimulus-response) psychology.
Term
  • these ideas were taken up by others.
  • theories are grouped together as learning theory.
Definition
  • Watson's idea tied in to research being carried out by Ivan Pavlov 1849-1936.
  • he was interested in the digestive processes of dogs.
  • - the salivation reflex.
Term
  • Pavlov noticed that the dogs not only slaivated in response to the taste of food
  • but also when they could see it
  • carried out a series of studies to investigate whether this response could also be triggered by other stimuli. (page 13)
Definition
  • the dog salivates to the sounds of the bell - an objectively measurable behaviour change
  • can be said to have learned to salivate to the sound of the bell
  • this kind of learning associating ..

a stimulus + a response = classical conditioning.

Term
operant conditioning. page 14
Definition
  • B.F Skinner (1904-90)
  • emphasises observable behaviour
Term
unlike classical:
Definition
  • it does not see learning as an association between stimulus and response.
  • but between behaviour and the consequences of that behaviour.
  • classical conditioning relates only to reflex behaviour. 
  • operant conditioning relates to ALL behaviour.
Term
the basic principle behind Skinner's theory:
Definition
  • behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences
  • Skinner believed that all behaviour is learned, apart from the reflexes wit which we are born
  • animals can produce any behaviour of which it is physically capable if appropriate techniques are used.
Term

key ideas in this theory:

Reinforcement and Shaping

Definition

Reinforcement

  • refers to the positive outcomes of a behaviour that makes it more likely to be repeated

Shaping

  • refers to gradually modifying behaviour, using reinforcement
  • as the behaviour produced becomes more like the target behaviour
Term
Skinner made a distinction between:  
Definition
  • positive reinforcement (where there is a positive outcome to behaviour)
  • negative reinforcement (when the outcome of behaviour is that something unpleasant stops) 
  • and punishment (where the outcome of a behaviour is either that 'something positive stops' or that 'something negative occurs')
Term
how Learning Theory explains the formation of attachment: (pg 56 and diagram)
Definition
  • both forms of conditioning have been used to explain the development of attachment.
  • within a classical conditioning framework - food produces a sense of pleasure.
  • the person providing the food (usually mother) is linked to food - so she becomes a source of pleasure.
Term
Attachment as classical conditioning:
Definition

neutral stimulus (NS): Mother --> no particular response.


unconditional stimulus (UCS): Food -->

                           unconditional response (UCR): pleasure.


neutral stimulus (NS): Mother        --> UCR: pleasure.

unconditional stimulus (UCS): Food --> UCR: pleasure.


conditional stimulus (CS): Mother -->

                               conditioned response (CR): pleasure.

Term
operant conditioning also suggests that attachment is learned:
Definition
  • feeding is reinforcing to a hungry child.
  • as the mother is close to the child during feeding
  • feeding positively reinforces attachment
Term
however, there are theories that explain attachment in terms of feeding:
Definition
  • Schaffer and Emerson
  • Harlow and Zimmerman (1959)
Term
Schaffer and Emerson 
Definition
  • found that quite a large propertion of infants formed their primary attachment with someone who seldom, if ever, fed them
  • SO, attachment cannot adequately be explained by feeding alone.
Term

Harlow and Zimmerson (1959)

AIMS

Definition
  • to investigate the basis of attachment in rhesus monkeys
Term

Harlow and Zimmerson (1959)

PROCEDURE

Definition
  • infant monkeys seperated from their mothers shortly after birth
  • raised in isolation
  • had access to 2 surrogate mothers, wire frames that looked like an adult monkey
  1. covered in soft terry cloth
  2. left bare but had a teat through which the infant could obtain milk
  • infants deliberately frightened by a clock work teddy bear beating a drum into the cage.
Term

Harlow and Zimmerson (1959)

RESULTS

Definition
  • showed extreme distress (screaming/rocking/crouching in a corner/thumb sucking)
  • most of the time - clung on to cloth mother, even though it didn't give milk.
  • clung to her when frightened
  • no attempt to cling to wire monkey
Term

Harlow and Zimmerson (1959)

CONCLUSIONS

Definition
  • mothering isn't just about feeding
  • young primates also need a source of psychological warmth
  • Harlow called it contact comfort
Term

Secondry drive hypothesis

Dollard and Miller (1950)

Definition

the proposed that:

  • Primary drives: motivational states arising from basic psychological needs, such as hunger.
  • Repeatedly met by mother
  • This becomes associated with the satisfaction of the need and so becomes a secodary drive.
Term
Attachment is adaptive because...
Definition
  1. infants who form a strong attachment would be more likely to survive to matuirty and reproduce, passing on their genes, including those coding for attachment to their offsprings
  2. for the mother - attachment is adaptive in that it will motivate her to care for the infant + so promote its survival of her genes.
Term
Adaptive means..
Definition
it is likely to promote survival.
Term
Social releasers
Definition
  • smiling
  • crying
  • sucking
  • clinging
Term
the bond between a mother and an infant is reciprocal
Definition
  1. a child needs its mother for food and warmth. 
  2. the mother needs its child to pass on its genes.
Term

Bowlby (1969)

The Development of attachment

Definition
  1. birth - 8 weeks: the infant is friendly towards other people, but shows little discrimination between them.
  2. 8 weeks - 6 months: while still generally friendly, the infant starts to show a preferance towards one primary caregiver.
Term
Bowlby (1969) the development of attachment continued.
Definition

3. 6 months - 2 years: the infant seeks proximately to the attatchment figure and uses him/her as secure base. 

  • Is distressed when seperated from attachment figure = seperation anxiety. 
  • is less friendly towards others and is wary of strangers = stranger anxiety.
Term

Bowlby (1969) the development of attachment continued.

Definition

4. 2 years onwards:

  • the infant develops insight into the primary caregiver's behaviour and can consciously influence what he/ she does.
  • this marks the beginning of a relationship that is a more equal partnership between child and caregiver
Term
Evaluating Bowlby's theory of Attachment
Definition

:) he was a trained psychoanalyst.

- the psychodynamic perspective is concerned with unconscious drives.

- recognises the importance of early childhood experiences for later development.

(including development of relationships)

Term

:( problems with extrapolation

- problematic to apply findings from non human animal research to humans.

(eg. findings from the imprinting behaviour of goslings to humans.)

Definition

:) support from studies into monkeys.

- genetically closer to humans than geese.

- monkeys develop longterm social and sexual problems when reared without a mother

  • withdrawn/rocked back and forth
  • aggressiive
  • self-harming
  • couldn't mate and if they did they were poor, cruel mothers

BUT

  • they had no social contact either. 
  • behaviour may not have just to do with lack of attachment.
Term

:) further support from cross-cultural research

-Kagan et al (1978)

  • found that the pattern of the development of seperation anxiety was similar: emerges in 2nd half of 1st yr and declines steadily.
  • NOTE: when there is evidence for univerity of any behaviour, this is support for it being innate.
Definition

:) used the term.

  • Bowlby believed: seperation and anxiety showed an attachment bond had been formed.
  • believed that at the same time children develop fear of strangers
Term

:( Monotropy to explain seperation anxiety BUT problems with this:

  • Monotropy: the need to become attached to ONE person.
  • he said that these behaviours were adoptive.
  • ideas on monotropy have been challenged
Definition

:) Support for his Internal Working Model

  • research has shown - early attachment patterns Do have a link with later relationships.
Term

:( His theory rests on evolutionary ideas

  • can't test what the evolutionary respective claims
Definition

:( Problems with his suggestion that early attachment acts as a template for future relationships


  • IWM - even if it were correct, there could be other explanations for
  1. attachment as infant
  2. relationships later in life: eg, personality
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