Attachment Flashcards

A strong emotional bond between an infant and their caregiver that is reciprocal and endures over time.

Found fathers less likely to be primary attachment figures due to less time spent caregiving and social factors like traditional gender roles.

1) Asocial stage (0–6 weeks), 2) Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks–7 months), 3) Specific attachment (7–9 months), 4) Multiple attachments (10 months+).

Studied imprinting in geese. Found geese attach to the first moving object they see, showing attachment is innate.

Found infant monkeys prefer comfort (cloth mother) over food (wire mother), demonstrating the importance of contact comfort.

Suggests attachment is learned through classical and operant conditioning, with food acting as a primary reinforcer.

Fails to explain why infants form attachment to those who don’t feed them (e.g., Harlow’s findings).

Bowlby proposed infants form one special attachment to a primary caregiver that is more important than others.

Bowlby argued that attachments must form within a specific time frame (around 2 years) or it may not happen.

A template for future relationships based on the quality of the first attachment. Influences later social and emotional development.

Criticised for ethical issues (stress to monkeys) and lack of generalisability to humans, though findings were influential.

Cannot generalise findings on imprinting to humans as mammals show more emotional attachment than birds.