Theories of attachment

Why do babies become attached to their parents? How does this process happen? Is it only the mother who is important for attachment?

We have now looked at two very important theories of attachment that seek to answer these questions. These are the learning theory and Bowlby's evolutionary theory. You need to make sure you can define the following concepts/terms:

Learning theory:

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

How each form of conditioning can lead to attachment

Two research studies that challenge the learning theory

Bowlby's theory:

Adaptive

Social releasers

Elicit

Monotropy

Primary caregiver

Internal working model

Imprinting

Critical period

Temperant hypothesis

Continuity hypothesis

The powerpoint on the learning theory is here and the one on Bowlby's theory is here. The list of questions on Bowlby's evolutionary theory is here.