3 3 explanations of attachment

Operant conditioning is learning via experience and consequences.

b. Learning theory suggests that people are born as blank slates.

According to the learning theory of attachment, the unconditioned stimulus is food, and the conditioned stimulus is the caregiver who feeds the baby.

c. Another term for the learning theory of attachment is 'cupboard love' theory.

According to operant conditioning, if a behaviour produces a negative consequence, then the behaviour is less likely to be repeated.

False. According to operant conditioning, food is a primary reinforcer.

a. Animal studies contradict the learning theory of attachment. Harlow found that monkeys attached to a cloth 'mother' when food was provided by a wire mother, suggesting comfort is more important than food in forming attachments.

b. The learning theory of attachment is overly deterministic, as it claims that an attachment can only happen between the infant and the caregiver who feeds them.

Bowlby's monotropic theory favours the **nature side of the nature-nurture debate. Bowlby suggests that attachment is an innate **response determined by the evolutionary mechanism to aid survival.

A monotropic attachment is one in which the child forms an attachment to one (mono) key primary caregiver.

a and c. The law of continuity: the more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of attachment. The law of accumulated separation: every separation from the primary attachment figure has a negative effect on the child.

Smiling, cooing, gripping a finger - all of these behaviours are known as social releasers, according to Bowlby. Social releasers trigger the adult to interact with the infant so that an attachment can be formed.

True. Bowlby suggested a critical period for attachment to form from three to six months. The most** sensitive period occurs around six months of age. If attachments are not made during this **period, then the child will find it difficult to form attachments later in life.

An internal working model is used as the basis for what relationships look like (a mental representation), based on a child's attachment history.

c. A child who experiences a loving and secure relationship with their primary caregiver will grow into an adult who enjoys healthy and fulfilling relationships.

False. The work of Lorenz supports and reflects Bowlby's monotropic theory. Both researchers thought that attachment is an innate response that increases survival.

a. One criticism of Bowlby's monotropic theory was presented by Rutter (2010), who proposed that attachment can still develop after the critical period of three to six months.

A limitation of Bowlby's monotropic theory is that babies form multiple attachments rather than being attached to just a single primary caregiver.