Explanations of Attachment

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Attachment is a core aspect of growing up. A baby is naturally attached to their parents, which is beneficial for multiple reasons. Namely, the parent-child attachment is important for the child's survival. So, what are these types and explanations of attachment?

First, we'll understand Ainsworth's explanation of Attachment.
Then, what is John Bowlby's explanation of attachment?
What is The Attachment Theory Explanation of Parasocial Relationships?
What is the Classical Conditioning explanation of attachment?
Finally, we'll outline and evaluate one or more explanations of attachment.

Explanations of Attachments: Overview

An attachment is a deep, enduring, reciprocating emotional bond between two people. The relationship is characterised by a child seeking closeness and feeling secure when the attachment figure is present. And for an adult, it is characterised by responding sensitively and appropriately to the child's needs.

Ainsworth Explanation of Attachment

Ainsworth attempted to assess how children would react when exposed to a new situation, precisely, how they would feel and behave when their primary caregiver (in this case, their mother) left and reunited with them. In addition to how they acted when left with a strange.

The strange situation refers to an observation technique in which an infant or child is placed in a situation where their caregiver is not present or leaves the room.

The study was conducted on 12 to 18-month-old children, and researchers observed participants in eight scenarios. Ainsworth defined different behaviours that were measured to determine the children's attachment types:

Proximity seeking – how close the infant stays to their caregiver
Secure base behaviour – secure base behaviour involves the child feeling safe to explore their environment but returning to their caregiver often, using them as a safe 'base'

Separation and stranger anxiety – display anxious behaviours such as crying, protesting or seeking their caregiver when separated. Some displays of anxious behaviours are crying or avoidance when the stranger approaches.
Reunion response – the child's response to their caregiver when reunited with them

The children's behaviour was recorded using a controlled observation to measure the attachment. This process was comprised of consecutive sections, each lasting approximately 3 minutes. These are as follows;

The parent and child enter an unfamiliar playroom. The child is encouraged to explore and play with their parent.
A stranger enters and attempts to interact with the child.
The parent leaves the room, leaving the stranger and their child.
The parent returns, and the stranger leaves.
The parent leaves the child alone in the playroom.
The stranger returns.
The parent returns again.

Explanations of Attachment, woman holding baby up in the air and smiling, Vaia

Fig. 1 Infants with a close bond are often categorised as having a secure attachment.

Ainsworth Explanation of Attachment: Conclusion

Mary Ainsworth concluded that children have three distinct attachment types with their primary caregiver (secure attachment, insecure-resistant attachment, and insecure-avoidant attachment).

15% were insecure-avoidant, 70% were securely attached, and 15% were insecure-resistant.

This challenged the previously accepted idea that attachment was something a child either had or didn't have, as theorised by Ainsworth's colleague John Bowlby. Parents play the most significant role in an infant's life. They teach them all their basic skills, including forming healthy attachments.

Issues exist because the study lacked ecological validity (being conducted in a laboratory setting), and behaviours of both parent and child could reflect this (they may act differently, and the child can pick up on these subtle cues). However, the study is reliable as it did account for different variables.

Bowlby's Explanation of Attachment

Another attachment theory is John Bowlby's explanation of attachment. Three pillars of his theory include monotropy, critical periods, and the internal working model.

Explanations of Attachment: Monotropic Theory

Between 1969 and 1988, Bowlby formed his monotropic theory of attachment.

Monotropic theory: Influenced by psychodynamics and evolutionary psychology, the theory suggests attachment is evolutionary and essential for survival.

Bowlby explains that attachment behaviours of both infants and caregivers have evolved through natural selection and serve the evolutionary purpose of ensuring infant survival. This relationship is considered the most important in the child's life, survival, and psychological well-being. While other attachments can be made, this primary attachment is the most significant.

This attachment forms through social releaser innate behaviours such as crying, eye contact, clinging and smiling. These behaviours are biologically programmed to encourage the parent to bond with the child and respond to their needs.

The child's ability to perform these behaviours and the parent's ability to pick up on them are both considered evolutionary advantages and therefore have become innate through natural selection.

Explanations of Attachment: Critical Period

Through his research, Bowlby defined a critical period during which babies must bond with a caregiver. Otherwise, there is a risk that they will not bond at all later in life. According to Bowlby, this carries detrimental consequences.

If a relationship is not formed during the critical period, then this may contribute to developmental, social, behavioural and psychological problems.

This critical period is between birth and 2.5/3 years.

In later revisions, Bowlby added that there might be a sensitive period, between 0 and 5 years after the critical period, where the attachment can form. However, it takes longer and requires more effort.

Explanations of Attachment: Internal working model

We can see the internal working model as a 'blueprint' that a child learns for navigating social Relationships. It also represents what the relationships they form throughout life might look like.

The child learns this from the first, monotropic attachment with their primary caregiver, influencing their future platonic and romantic Relationships.

Essentially the theory proposed that people use their initial relationship with their primary caregiver as a template for future relationships.

The model involves three main features:

A model for the trustworthiness of others – if their primary caregiver has been consistently responsive to their needs, the child is more likely to perceive others as trustworthy.
A model of the self as valuable – if the child is treated with respect and their needs are met, they will see themselves as valuable.
A model of the self as effective in interacting with others – if the child's social releasers are adequately responded to, the child will see themselves as effective in interacting with others.

Classical Conditioning Explanation of Attachment

In Classical Conditioning, first demonstrated in the famous Pavlov's Dogs experiment, an individual begins to associate a neutral stimulus (something not associated with anything else) with an unconditioned response.

There are a few important abbreviations we'll need to define going forward. These are:

UCR – Unconditioned response: when the response to a stimulus is not a result of conditioning (e.g., expressing pain when you fall)
UCS – Unconditioned Stimulus: when the stimulus is not associated with anything. (e.g., plain paper is unlikely to be associated with any feelings or behaviour)
CR – Conditioned response: when a response is associated with a particular stimulus (e.g., if a dog bites you, you associate dogs with fear)
CS – Conditioned stimulus: when a stimulus is associated with a response (e.g., the dog in the above example)

In classical conditioning, a person simultaneously experiences a stimulus as another stimulus which elicits a response. As a result, the individual associates the unconditioned stimulus with the response of the other stimulus.

The classical conditioning explanation of attachment suggests that the baby begins to associate the positive feeling (UCR) that they experience when they receive food (UCS) with their mother (CS), resulting in attachment.

Explanations of Attachment, diagram of classical conditioning in attachment, Vaia Fig. 2 Attachment by classical conditioning, Vaia Originals

Before learning: Food (UCS) → Pleasure (UCR)
During learning: Food (UCS) + Caregiver (CS) → Pleasure (UCR)
After learning: Caregiver (CS) → Pleasure (CR)

Attachment Theory Explanation of Parasocial Relationships

Can you think of your favourite character in your favourite television show? What if that character was written off the show? Would this make you feel sad or abandoned? For some people, the answer is yes. They've formed a parasocial relationship with that character.

Parasocial Relationships are one-sided relationships in which a person emotionally attaches to a media personality.

Several researchers have investigated attachment theory explanations of parasocial relationships. For example, Cole and Leets (1999) designed a study to observe how audience members become attached to television personalities using attachment theory.

They found that people with insecure-resistant attachment styles were more likely to form parasocial relationships, perhaps as a way to fulfil their emotional needs that were not being met.

People with an insecure-avoidant attachment style, however, were least likely to form parasocial relationships, likely because they avoid forming emotional attachments.

Outline and Evaluate One or More Explanations of Attachment

How can we outline and evaluate one or more explanations of attachment? Let's begin with Rutter's (2007) later research on Romanian orphanages, which found no significant difference in attachment for children under or over six months.

Thus, age may not be such a substantial factor in a child's ability to attach.

Another study by Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied 60 Scottish infants in the first 18 months of life. It found that infants were more likely to bond with caregivers who responded accurately and consistently to their signals, supporting Bowlby's idea of social releasers.

However, they also found that babies can develop multiple strong attachments by ten months of age, challenging Bowlby's idea that they only have one.

Bowlby's theory tends to take an 'all or nothing' approach to attachment. However, a study by Mary Ainsworth (1970) investigated different attachment qualities and found three different attachment types with other developmental consequences. The study points out the limitations of Bowlby's theory as it shows there is much more to attachment than he assumed.

Explanations of Attachment - Key takeaways

Mary Ainsworth's explanation of attachment theorised three infant-caregiver attachment styles secure attachment, insecure-resistant attachment, and insecure-avoidant attachment.
Another attachment theory is John Bowlby's explanation of attachment. Three pillars of his theory include monotropy, critical periods, and the internal working model.
The classical conditioning explanation of attachment suggests that the baby begins to associate the positive feeling (UCR) that they experience when they receive food (UCS) with their mother (CS), resulting in attachment.
Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships in which a person emotionally attaches to a media personality. The Attachment Theory Explanation of parasocial relationships suggests particular attachemnt styles are prone to develop parasocial relationships.
Bowlby's theory takes an 'all or nothing' approach to attachment. However, a study by Mary Ainsworth (1970) investigated different attachment qualities and found three different attachment types with other developmental consequences.

Frequently Asked Questions about Explanations of Attachment

The psychodynamic explanation focuses on childhood experiences rather than innate tendencies.

Many researchers have established various stages of attachment. In a longitudinal study, Schaffer and Emerson established the following stages: pre-attachment, indiscriminate attachment, discriminate attachment, and multiple attachments.

The main theories are the learning theory of attachment (involving operant and classical conditioning) and Bowlby's attachment theory.

Attachment theory is how an individual forms a bond with another. The bond is shared, and research studies this phenomenon by analysing influences on these relationships.

Research has shown that when an attachment is disrupted for a child, it affects later childhood and adulthood. It can impact self-esteem and self-reliance, and those who suffered as children (from abuse, for instance) can develop disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Final Explanations of Attachment Quiz

Explanations of Attachment Quiz - Teste dein Wissen

Question

What approach is learning theory based on?

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Behaviourism

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What is classical conditioning?

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Where an individual begins to associate a neutral stimulus (something that is not associated with anything else) with an unconditioned response. An example of this could be when you hear a phone ring and automatically check your phone even if it's on silent, because you have been conditioned to associate that sound with your phone ringing.

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What is operant conditioning?

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The idea that some conditioning occurs through reinforcement. This can be either positive or negative. An example of this could be when a child who has a toy taken away for refusing to eat dinner, they are more likely to eat their dinner next time to avoid the unpleasant consequence of losing a toy.

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What is Extrinsic motivation?

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Motivation that comes from external sources, such as wanting to get a good grade in anticipation of getting a reward.

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What is intrinsic motivation?

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Motivation that comes from ourselves, such as wanting to get a good grade simply because you want to do well.

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Give an example of reinforcement in attachment

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When a baby is hungry, they realise that their mother will feed them and help remove the unpleasant feeling of hunger, which encourages them to seek out their mother.

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Who conducted a meta-analysis on cultural differences in attachment?

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Pavlov & Skinner

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What does behaviorist learning theory suggest?

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Behaviorist learning theory suggests that we learn attachment behaviors in infancy due to reinforcement from our parents, such as food and comfort.

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What does the social constructivist learning theory suggest?

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The social constructivist theory suggests that knowledge is constructed socially, where people learn through reinforcement from peers and other people in their lives to be socially accepted.

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What does cognitive constructivist learning theory suggest?

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Cognitive constructivist theory suggests that children go through different cognitive stages of development that characterize how their attachments develop in the first year of life.

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What kind of process did Vygotsky consider learning to be?

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Social

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How many countries did Van Izjendoorn & Kroonenberg study?

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Which attachment stage identified by Schaffer and Emerson supports Bowlby's idea that one attachment is more important than other attachments in an infant's life?

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Specific attachment

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Which attachment stage identified by Schaffer and Emerson refutes Bowlby's idea that one attachment is more important than other attachments in an infant's life?

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Multiple attachments

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Who conducted research into cognitive stages of development concerning learning?

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Jean Piaget

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When was Bowlby’s monotropic theory created?

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1969.

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Who does Bowlby suggest is the most important attachment for a child?

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Their primary caregiver, usually the mother.

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What is monotropy?

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The concept infants have an innate capacity and drive to attach to one primary caregiver or attachment figure.

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What kind of process is attachment, according to Bowlby?

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Innate and biological.

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Bowlby describes attachment as an evolutionary process; what does this mean?

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It means attachment is innate, a process that we are naturally able to complete in infancy and one that was beneficial to our ancestors.

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How might attachment have become an innate process?

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In prehistoric times, a secure bond to one caregiver would be vital to a child’s survival as it would ensure they are fed and stay close to those who can protect them. These attached children were more likely to survive until adulthood, and therefore through natural selection, the attachment process would become innate.

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What are social releasers?

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Innate behaviours that the infant performs to maintain proximity with their attachment figure.

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Which of these is not a social releaser?

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Playing with blocks.

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What does the idea of social releasers suggest about attachment?

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The idea of social releasers suggests that attachments form because of care and responsiveness rather than simply food and biological needs.

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What does Bowlby suggest a child will experience if they do not experience monotropic attachment?

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Detrimental developmental effects, such as low language skills and developmental delays.

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What is maternal deprivation?

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Maternal deprivation describes instances where a mother and child are separated for an extended time, which disrupts their attachment.

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What is privation?

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Privation describes instances where a child does not have the chance to form an attachment with a caregiver in infancy/early childhood.

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Who first proposed the idea of privation being different to deprivation?

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Michael Rutter (1981).

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What did Rutter suggest are the consquences of privation?

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The problems that Rutter hypothesises that children who have experienced privation were likely to face include attention-seeking, co-dependent behaviours, antisocial behaviour, and an inability to follow the rules or feel guilt.

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What is one study that supports Bowlby’s theory?

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Lorenz (1935) found that infant greylag geese formed attachments with the very first thing they saw after hatching, suggesting that attachment is an innate process. This finding supports Bowlby’s idea that attachment is an evolutionary, instinctual behaviour.

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What is a limitation of Bowlby’s theory?

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Rutter (1981) argued that the problems children who had suffered privation or deprivation faced were due to the lack of intellectual stimulation and social contact that attachments provide, rather than the lack of attachment itself.

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How can Bowlby's theory be applied?

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This theory could find use in therapeutic settings; by knowing what has caused someone to have some emotional or social deficits, we can help treat them.

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Who conducted the Strange Situation study?

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Mary Ainsworth.

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When was the Strange Situation study conducted?

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In 1970.

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What was the aim of the Strange Situation study?

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The Strange Situation aimed to investigate whether or not there were different types of attachment rather than simply being something a child had or did not have as Bowlby proposed.

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How many behavioural measures did Ainsworth record?

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Five.

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What is the definition of separation anxiety?

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Display of anxious behaviours such as crying, protesting or seeking their caregiver when separated from them.

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What is the definition of stranger anxiety?

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It is a display of anxious behaviours such as crying or avoidance when the stranger approaches.

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What is the definition of proximity seeking?

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It refers to how close the infant stays to its caregiver.

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What is the definition of safe base/secure base behaviour?

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The child feels safe to explore their environment but returns to their caregiver often.

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Who were Ainsworth’s participants?

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The original Strange Situation study included infants and mothers from 100 middle-class American families. The infants in the study were between 12 and 18 months old.

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Whose work did Ainsworth build on?

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John Bowlby.

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How long did each section of the strange situation last?

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Three minutes.

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What were the stages of the strange situation procedure?

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The parent and child enter an unfamiliar playroom with the experimenter.
The child is encouraged to explore and play by their parent; the parent and child are alone.
A stranger enters and attempts to interact with the child.
The parent leaves the room, leaving the stranger and their child.
The parent returns, and the stranger leaves.
The parent leaves the child completely alone in the playroom.
The stranger returns.
The parent returns, and the stranger leaves.

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Which is the definition of a secure attachment?

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Children have healthy bonds with their caregiver, which is close and based on trust.

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Which is the definition of an insecure-resistant attachment?

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There is a lack of trust in their relationship. These children tend to show high proximity seeking and explore their environment less.

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Which is the definition of an insecure-avoidant attachment?

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These children have fragile relationships with their caregivers and are highly independent.

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What are the two theories of attachment?

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Learning Theory (classical conditioning) & Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory.

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Who does a child with a secure attachment style use as their secure base?

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Their primary caregiver.

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Ainsworth's research found the same prevalence of insecure-avoidant and insecure-ambivalent attachment styles. Is this true or false?

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True.

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Flashcards in Explanations of Attachment94

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What approach is learning theory based on?

Behaviourism

What is classical conditioning?

What is operant conditioning?

What is Extrinsic motivation?

Motivation that comes from external sources, such as wanting to get a good grade in anticipation of getting a reward.

What is intrinsic motivation?

Motivation that comes from ourselves, such as wanting to get a good grade simply because you want to do well.

Give an example of reinforcement in attachment

When a baby is hungry, they realise that their mother will feed them and help remove the unpleasant feeling of hunger, which encourages them to seek out their mother.

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Explanations of Attachment

Explanations of Attachments: Overview

Ainsworth Explanation of Attachment

Ainsworth Explanation of Attachment: Conclusion

Bowlby's Explanation of Attachment

Explanations of Attachment: Monotropic Theory

Explanations of Attachment: Critical Period

Explanations of Attachment: Internal working model

Classical Conditioning Explanation of Attachment

Attachment Theory Explanation of Parasocial Relationships

Outline and Evaluate One or More Explanations of Attachment

Explanations of Attachment - Key takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions about Explanations of Attachment

Is the psychodynamic explanation of attachment innate?

What are the four stages of attachment?

What are the main theories of attachment?

What is attachment theory in psychology?

What happens when attachment is disrupted?

What is an attachment?

Final Explanations of Attachment Quiz

Explanations of Attachment Quiz - Teste dein Wissen

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