Attachment-development, explanations,and animal studies.

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  • Attachment
    • Infant-caregiver Interactions
      • Infancy- a period in child's life before speech begins.
      • Reciprocity- responding to the action of someone with a similar action.
        • Interaction of similar behaviours pattern b/w infant and caregiver
      • EVALUATION
        • -
          • Failure to replicate
            • Koepke et al failed to replicate the findings of M&M.
          • Hard to judge the infant's actions
            • Mouth always in constant motion.
        • +
          • Murray and Trevarthen
            • Infants interacted with their mother via a monitor. Then, watch a videotape.
              • When the videotape mother did not respond the result was one of acute distress.
                • The infant wanted elicit a response not a reward
                  • Such behaviours are learned rather than innate.
    • Animal studies of attachment
      • Harlow (1959)
        • Findings
          • It was found of which mother had the food, all 8 monkeys spent more time with the Cloth mother.
          • In frightening/ambiguous situations monkeys clinged onto the Cloth mother.
        • Procedure
          • 8 Rhesus monkeys were divided into 2 groups
            • Other group had their bottle of milk on the wire mother
            • One group had their bottle of milk on the cloth mother
              • It was recorded how much time the monkeys spent with each of the mothers.
                • Other group had their bottle of milk on the wire mother
        • Conclusions were made that infants do not develop with the one who provides the food but one who provides the comfort.
        • Aim- investigate what forms basis of attachment.
      • Lorenz (1935)
        • IMPRINTING- An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother.
          • Takes place during a specific time- first few hours after birth.
        • AIM- investigate imprinting and its affects.
        • Procedure
          • Lorenz took two groups of Goslings eggs
            • This group was incubated and saw Lorenz as the first moving thing.
              • Imprinted on Lorenz
            • One group hatched normally and saw their mother as the first moving thing as their mother.
              • Imprinted on the mother
                • Both groups of geese were put in box and allowed to mix and when set free each of followed their 'mother'- what they had imprinted on
                  • Imprinted on Lorenz
        • Findings- Both groups followed around their 'mother' (what they had imprinted on) everywhere
          • The incubated group showed no recognition of their real mother.
        • Conclusions
          • Process of imprinting is restricted to the critical period
          • The process of imprinting is similar to attachment in a sense that a young animal/infant forms a special bond with the primary caregiver.
          • Imprinting is reversible but it doesn't occur in all animals e.g. Curlews.
      • Evaluation
        • We cannot generalise animals studies on human behaviour as humans are much more complex creatures; our behaviour is driven by conscious thinking.
        • There was confounding variable of different heads between the mothers. The wire and the cloth mother had different heads which could possibly suggest that the monkeys had were maybe attracted to the head rather than the contact comfort.
        • Harlow's study created long lasting emotional harm for the monkeys which is reversible, they were not able to form social bonds when they grew up and had a troubling mating behaviour which concerns us over whether it should have been even done on the monleys.
        • Guiton (1966) did a similar study on Leghorn chicks who imprinted on yellow rubber gloves and found similar results of imprinting.
    • Explanations of attachment
      • Learning theory
        • Operant Conditioning
          • Investigated by Skinner. States that attachment is based on association or negative/ positive reinforcement
            • Child cries= negative reinforcement. So, mother feeds and takes away the unpleasant situation. Happy baby= positive reinforcement= mother encouraged to repeat behaviour. Therefore attachment formed.
        • Classical conditioning
          • Investigated by Pavlov. States that before conditioning... FOOD= unconditioned stimulus produces PLEASURE= unconditioned response. MOTHER= neutral stimulus produces no response
            • During conditioning...NS and UCS paired
              • After conditioning...NS become conditioned stimulus producing pleasure (conditioned response)
        • EVALUATION
          • Backed up by animal studies
            • Cannot generalise on humans as human are much more complex and drive on consious thought.
          • Suggests food is key element in forming attachment.
            • Harlow's monkeys concluded that it is contact comfort.
            • Only takes into account the innate needs.
          • Holds explanatory power
            • Infants do learn through association and reinforcement but food my not be it. it might be sensitivity of the mother.
      • Bowlby's theory
        • Sensitive period- a biologically determined period of time during which certain characteristics can develop.
        • Internal working model- a mental model of the world which enables individuals to predict and control their environment. In this case, it relates to a person's expectations from future relationships.
        • Social releaser- social characteristics that elicit care-giving. Eg smiling or crying
        • Monotropy- the idea that one relationship that the infant has with his/her primary attachment figure is of special significance in emotional development.
        • Continuity hypothesis- the idea that emotionally secure infants grow up to be emotionally secure, trusting, and socially confident  adults.
        • Evaluation
          • Kagan's temperament hypothesis is an alternative attachment theory that says easy temperament infants have strong attachment and difficult temperament infants have weaker attachments. Others studies i.e. Belsky and Rovine have supported this.
          • Hazan and Shaver's 'Love Quiz' was a study that contradicts continuity hypothesis. it found that even though most adults stayed true to their early attachment types, some changed as they grew up.
          • Theory suggests that primary attachments are with mothers however study by Schaffer and Emerson found that 35% of the attachments were with the fathers.

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