Attachment Theories

Psychology…read more

What is an attachment?
An attachment is an emotional link between the child
and a primary care giver which ties them together.
Maccoby 1980 argues there are four ways that you can
recognise an attachment.
- Seeking proximity
- -Distress on separation
- Joy on reunion
- General behaviour…read more

Learning theory
Classical conditioning suggest we learn behaviour
through stimulus response.
Operant conditioning suggest we learn through
rewards and re-enforcements.…read more

Pavlov
Pavlov did a study on dogs using the classical
conditioning theory. The dogs quickly began to
associate meal times with the bell which caused
excitement before they even seen food.…read more

Classical Conditioning
When milk is provided to a baby this is an
unconditional stimulus (natural) which provides an
unconditional response in the baby of pleasure and
relied from hunger. This response is automatic and
doesn't need to be learnt.
The neutral stimulus is the feeder, through
repetition of feeding the mother becomes the
conditioned stimulus.…read more

Skinner
This theory is founded by Skinner. He placed hungry
animals in cages and let them explore their
surroundings. When the animal accidently pressed
a lever food was supplied. The animal soon learnt to
press the lever for food. Any behaviour that
produces a reward which is a positive re
enforcement such as food will be repeated.…read more