Theories of attachment

Children go through psychosexual stages - oral stage (birth-2yrs).

• Breast feeding makes the mother the primary love object for provding a souce of oral satisfaction.
• Mother's status is unique without parallel.
• Established unalterably for a whole life time as the first and strongest love object.
• The prototype of all future relationships.
• If a secure relationship is not formed as the first attachment, a secure attachment will never be formed.

• critisiced by learning theorists as he believes this is due to biology
• infants can attach to multiple figures 
• psychosexual stages cannot be proven 
• disproved by Harlow / Schaffer and Emerson 

All behaviour is learnt through experiences 

• Classical conditioning - learnt via association
• Operant conditioning - learnt via trial and error 
• Classical conditioning reinforces attachment between baby and carer as carer provides food. 
• During feeding carer gives positive releasers and these are associated with the carer. 

• Too much emphasis on feeding - not supported by Harlow / Schaffer and Emerson.
• Difficult to explain stranger anxiety and sudden reactions. 
• proves attachment may not be biologically determined.

Direct reinforcement is important in the attachment process

• Caregiver's loving behaviour teaches child how to be affectionate - then attach 
• Child will learn to reciprocate the love by copying the mother's actions

• Doesn't explain emotional intensity involved in attachment 
• No doubt some attachment behaviours shown by children are the result modelling, direct teaching and encouragement 
• supported by Harlow / Schaffer and Emerson

• Attachment related to imprinting 
• Nesting birds - attached to moving object if exposed within critical period
• Attachment happens automatically and is irreversable 

• Generalising from animals to humans- inaccurate 
• Concept of critical period - too rigid 
• Better than learning theory to explain the intensity of emotional bonds 

• Attachment is innate - adaptive process 
• Principles of imprinting can be applied to humans - critical period 
• Infants use social releaser behaviours to demand caregiving - genetic
• Monotropy - only form a special attachment to one person 
• Main attachment shapes development - shapes emotional and social development for future relationships
• attachment affects cognitive development 
• Adults are sensitive to social releaser behaviours - mother's genetic programming 

Eval notes seperate 

• Scaffer and Emerson found children form multiple attachments and may not attach to their mother - against monotropy
• Harlow - monkeys did have a primary care giver but attached to eachother instead - against monotropy
• Critical period - too rigid - now called sensitive period 
• Harlow agree with Bowlby that social and emotional development may be damaged if no attachment is formed