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26 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What does learning theory propose? |
Our behaviour is the result of learning through interaction with our environment and others around us. |
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What is classical conditioning and what does it propose? |
Learning through association. Pavlov (1927) proposed that animals and humans are born with innate, or unconditioned, reflexes but the stimulus that triggers the reflex response can be replaced by a new one through the process of classical conditioning. |
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What is operant conditioning and what does it propose? |
Learning through punishment and reinforcement. Proposed by Skinner. Reinforcement - Pleasant Punishment - Unpleasant
2 Types of Reinforcement: Positive Reinforcement - Adding something to the environment to encourage desired behaviour. Negative Reinforcement - Taking something away from the environment to encourage desired behaviour.
Behaviours followed by rewarding consequences bring us pleasure (e.g negative reinforcement - escaping pain) and tend to increase in frequency. Behaviours followed by unpleasant consequences (punishment) or none at all tend to decrease in frequency. |
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Who applied OC to attachment and how? |
Dollard and Miller applied OC to attachment. Hungry baby feels uncomfortable -> creates drive to reduce the discomfort (baby will cry) Mother feeds infant -> drive is reduced -> produces feeling of pleasure (rewarding to the baby and negative reinforcement for the mother because the baby is no longer crying) Food becomes primary reinforcer -> stamps in the behaviour to avoid discomfort. Person supplying food becomes secondary reinforcer (a source of reward in their own right) Attachment occurs because the child seeks the person who can supply the reward. Eventually food isn't need and attachments form. |
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What is the refuting evidence for learning theory? |
Harlow's Monkeys - suggest that contact is more important than food. When given a choice between a wire mother who provided food and a wire mother who provided comfort, the baby rhesus monkey chose to spend most of its time with the mother who provided comfort and just one hour with the wire mother who provided food. Therefore the monkey did attach to the mother providing food but also formed an attachment with the mother providing comfort. Therefore food is not the only feature needed to form an attachment and contact comfort is more important. |
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What are the methodological issues with learning theory? |
Based on experiments carried out by Skinner and Pavlov who observed animals in a laboratory setting. Highly controlled but does not take into consideration the variables we may come across in a natural environment. Therefore the results may only explain behaviour in a lab type environment and not in real life settings and lack mundane realism. |
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What is the supporting evidence for learning theory? |
Dollard & Miller (1950) calculated that in their first year, babies are fed 2000 times generally by the PCG. This gives ample opportunity for the mother to become associated with the removal of the unpleasant feeling of hunger. This implies that attachment is learned through operant conditioning. |
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What are the key features of Bowlby's attachment theory? |
Attachment is adaptive Caregiving is adaptive (social releasers) Sensitive/critical period Monotropy Secure base Internal working model Continuity hypothesis |
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What is the supporting evidence for Bowlby's theory of attachment? |
Lorenz (1952) found that goslings imprinted on the first moving thing that they see. Evolved mechanism: goslings formed monotropic relationship Protects young animals and enhances the likelihood of survival. The goslings behaviour is innate. Goslings critical period of 2 hours -> 7 months to 2 1/2 years for human babies. Similar to human infants. |
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How has Bowlby's theory of attachment been applied to real life? |
Intervention strategies such as the Circle of Security have been created to help caregivers recognise infants' distress signals better and give consistent attachment responses.
Without Bowlby's theory we would not know that attachment responses are important to change infant's lives for the better, therefore has helped human beings, confirming the validity and reliability of the research (useful application). |
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What is the refuting evidence for Bowlby's theory of attachment? |
Temperament hypothesis (down to your personality) e.g an innately trusting and friendly personality could be the prime factor whereas Bowlby's theory states that attachment matters more. Therefore this refutes Bowlby's continuity hypothesis.
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What is the Strange Situation? |
Mary Ainsworth researched the type and strength of attachment between infants and their caregivers. Controlled observation. 12-18 month old infants and their mothers were observed using a video camera in a purpose built laboratory playroom to assess: Secure-base behaviour Separation anxiety Reunion behaviour Stranger anxiety
The Strange Situation allows us to test the attachment types. Almost all studies of attachment use the Strange Situation technique. |
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What are the stages of the Strange Situation and what is being assessed at each stage? |
1. Mother and child are introduced to the room. 2. Mother and child are left alone and the child can investigate the toys. 3. A stranger enters the room and talks with the mother. The strangers gradually approaches the child with a toy. (Stranger anxiety) 4. Mother leaves the child alone with the stranger, and the stranger interacts with the child. (Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety) 5. Mother returns, greets and picks up the child. The stranger leaves inconspicuously. (Reunion behaviour) 6. The child is left on his own. (Separation anxiety) 7. The stranger returns and tries to engage with the child. (Stranger anxiety) 8. Mother returns to greet and comfort the child. (Reunion behaviour) |
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What are the methodological issues with the Strange Situation? |
It is a controlled observation in a laboratory setting so it is not necessary in the infant's natural environment. For example a mother would not normally leave their child on their own. Therefore the child may give different reactions in an environment that they are not used to, and may only be giving different reactions because the child is in a strange or unfamiliar place, and becomes more anxious therefore the results cannot be generalised to situations outside of a lab setting. |
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Why does the study lack validity? |
Main and Weston (1981) found that children acted differently depending on which parent they were with. Children might be insecurely attached to their mothers, but securely attached to their fathers. The Strange Situation only observed children and their mothers. Therefore the results might not be valid enough to apply to children and their fathers, or other caregivers. Children in which the Strange Situation classifies them as securely attached to their mother may be insecurely attached to their father and vice versa. Instead we are measuring one relationship rather than something lodged in the individual. |
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Why can the Strange Situation be criticised on issues of reliability? |
Some people may argue that the Strange Situation lack reliability of observations made by different people are not the same. This would suggest that the Strange Situation has low inter-rater reliability however Ainsworth found almost perfect agreement when ration exploratory behaviour with a panel of experienced judges. |
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What are cultural variations? |
Similarities and differences within cultures. If attachment is innate, then attachment behaviour should be similar in all cultures (universal). This means that a secure attachment type should be the predominant type of attachment found in all cultures as it ensures survival and reproduction. |
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What did Fox find about cross cultural similarities in 1977? |
Fox ('77) studied infants raised in Israeli Kibbutzim who spent most of their time being cared for by nurses. The SS was used to test attachment types. Infants were equally attached to the nurses and parents, except when looking at reunion behaviour where children showed greater attachment to their mothers. Therefore the mothers were the primary attachment figures. |
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What did Tronick et al find about cultural similarities in 1992? |
Tronick et al (1992) studied an African tribe, the Efe, from Zaire who live in extended family groups. Infants were looking after and fed by different women. Usually slept with their own mother at night. Despite childrearing practices (different), infants still showed one primary attachment after six months. |
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What do cultural variations suggest? |
It suggests that attachment behaviour is innate and therefore we should find similar attachment behaviours universally. |
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What did Grossman-Grossman find about cultural differences in 1991? |
German infants tend to be classified as insecure rather than securely attached. Suggests that attachment is not innate but it could be due to the fact that German culture involves interpersonal distance between parents and child. Infants do not engage in proximity seeking behaviours and appear insecurely attached which suggests that attachment is due to the childrearing practices. |
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What did Takashi find about cultural differences in 1990? |
They studied 60 middle class Japanese infants and their mothers. Found similar rates of secure attachment as found in the USA by Ainsworth. Unlike the USA sample there were higher rates of insecure resistant (32%) and no insecure avoidant. When infants were separated they become very distressed. Could be due to them rarely being separated from their mothers, thus making them appear insecurely attached. |
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What do cultural differences suggest? |
It suggests that attachment behaviour is likely to be due to childrearing practices and not an innate drive. |
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What is the supporting evidence for cross cultural similarities? |
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) carried out a meta-analysis to find out about attachment types in different cultures across 32 separate studies from 8 different countries, with 2000 babies studied. They found that the secure attachment type was the most common and predominant among the countries tested. This supports cross cultural similarities as it has found that secure attachment is the main type of attachment globally. |
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What is the refuting evidence for cross cultural similarities being due to an innate drive? |
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg suggested that cross cultural similarities might be due to the effects of the mass media, which spreads ideas about parenting, so children globally are exposed to similar influences. Therefore similarities are not due to innate biological influences but due to global cultures. |
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Why would studies of cultural variations be criticised by their methodology? |
All of the studies done into cultural variations used the SS created by Ainsworth. Critics argue that it is not appropriate to use in other cultures e.g Japan. The SS assumes that willingness to explore = secure attachment whereas in Japan, 'dependence' = secure attachment. It is for this reason that critics argue 'imposed etic' has occurred i.e the SS was designed in the USA and used on a number of different cultures. The result of this is that Japanese (and other cultures) may appear to be insecurely attached when in fact they are not, makes another culture seem different.
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