AQA A-Level
Psychology – Paper 1
,Attachment
1. Explanations of Attachment
2. Animal Studies of Attachment
3. Caregiver-Infant Interactions, Stages of Attachment an
Role of the Father
4. The Strange Situation
5. Cultural Variations in Attachment
6. Bowlby's Theory of Maternal Deprivation
7. Romanian Orphan Studies and Institutionalisation
8. Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationship
,Explanations of Attachment
What is attachment?
An attachment can be defined, by the AQA spec, as an emotional
relationship between two people where each person seeks closene
and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figu
There are two explanations of attachment we look at:
1. Learning theory – nurture, babies learn attachment.
2. Bowlby's monotropic theory – nature, babies are born with innat
instincts for attachment.
The learning theory of attachment is based off of the learning approa
from the approaches topic in paper 2, which encompasses BOTH the
behaviourist approach (Pavlov and Skinner) and social learning the
(observation and imitation).
, Explanations of Attachment
Learning Theory
According to this theory, children become attached to their caregivers because they
them food, which is referred to as 'cupboard love'.
'Drive reduction' is a caregiver meeting the baby's needs, such as providing food,
reduces hunger and makes the baby feel more comfortable. Hunger itself is a prim
drive, where attachment is a secondary drive.
The learning theory states that classical conditioning (association) creates the
attachment bond and operant conditioning (reinforcement) strengthens this bond
Classical Conditioning Creating the Bond
• The caregiver is the neutral stimulus, evoking no response. Food is an
unconditioned stimulus, evoking an unconditioned response of pleasure in th
• As the caregiver is constantly paired with food, the baby will start to associate th
neutral stimulus with the unconditioned response of pleasure until the caregiver al
can produce a pleased response.
• The caregiver has now become a conditioned stimulus and brings about the
conditioned response of pleasure. Thus, an attachment bond is learnt through
association.
Psychology – Paper 1
,Attachment
1. Explanations of Attachment
2. Animal Studies of Attachment
3. Caregiver-Infant Interactions, Stages of Attachment an
Role of the Father
4. The Strange Situation
5. Cultural Variations in Attachment
6. Bowlby's Theory of Maternal Deprivation
7. Romanian Orphan Studies and Institutionalisation
8. Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationship
,Explanations of Attachment
What is attachment?
An attachment can be defined, by the AQA spec, as an emotional
relationship between two people where each person seeks closene
and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figu
There are two explanations of attachment we look at:
1. Learning theory – nurture, babies learn attachment.
2. Bowlby's monotropic theory – nature, babies are born with innat
instincts for attachment.
The learning theory of attachment is based off of the learning approa
from the approaches topic in paper 2, which encompasses BOTH the
behaviourist approach (Pavlov and Skinner) and social learning the
(observation and imitation).
, Explanations of Attachment
Learning Theory
According to this theory, children become attached to their caregivers because they
them food, which is referred to as 'cupboard love'.
'Drive reduction' is a caregiver meeting the baby's needs, such as providing food,
reduces hunger and makes the baby feel more comfortable. Hunger itself is a prim
drive, where attachment is a secondary drive.
The learning theory states that classical conditioning (association) creates the
attachment bond and operant conditioning (reinforcement) strengthens this bond
Classical Conditioning Creating the Bond
• The caregiver is the neutral stimulus, evoking no response. Food is an
unconditioned stimulus, evoking an unconditioned response of pleasure in th
• As the caregiver is constantly paired with food, the baby will start to associate th
neutral stimulus with the unconditioned response of pleasure until the caregiver al
can produce a pleased response.
• The caregiver has now become a conditioned stimulus and brings about the
conditioned response of pleasure. Thus, an attachment bond is learnt through
association.
