The rhesus monkey experiment "nature of love" (1958), undertaken by Harry F. Harlow bolstered our understanding of the emotional bond between a baby and its mother. Harlow was able to distinguish between emotional attachment and the biological desire for food. Harlow had left behind an extraordinary legacy relating to the ethical implications which lead to deprived love at a young age, Hock (2013) depicts the inhumane treatment towards the infants needs and how the research that Harlow had produced could not be done on humans as it would harm their psychological and physical state, as it had already done to the infant monkeys. The experimental research deprived the infants of their original mother by replacing them with a cloth, although he only did these with the infant monkeys due to the ethical principles. Harlow had found that the infant monkeys as young as a day old, became very attached to the cloth pads used in the experiment, most for comfort and security.
I would like to have a physical connection with my baby, and also be there hand and foot when he/she needs me. Based on the baby box, what modifications might you propose for other baby apparatuses—high chairs, playpens, etc.? I would say that since the baby box was somewhat effective, they should try these same effects on the highchair and playpens etc… Being that in the highchair the child usually feds themselves but there is help from the parent. The playpen gives the child play time with themselves and their toy, but still their not cramped in a box bored. Do you think it is ethical to raise a child in a baby box?
Babies have social releaser which unlocks the innate tendency for adults to care for them; these are both physical and behavioural social releasers. Bowlby adopted the idea of a critical period from ethologists like Lorenz, and applied this to his explanation of how human infants form their attachments. Bowlby has several claims. The first being that we have evolved a biological need to attach to our main caregiver, this being the monotropy attachment. Forming this attachment has survival values, as staying close to the mother ensure food and protection.
This flour baby project has enlightnened me on adult life and parenting itself. Teaching me that having a baby is way more than just dressing him/her upon in cute clothes and playing around with the baby. I learned about the patience one has to have to take care of another human being. The expenses dedication and responsibilities one has to have and give up in order to raise a child. All the more reasons why teen pregnancy isn’t the best idea.
Outline and evaluate the learning theory as an explanation of attachment. According to learning theories, attachment like all behaviours is stimulated by the environment. Based on the behavioural explanations of classical conditioning and apparent conditioning, attachment is a consequence of reward and association. Classical conditioning is associating the mother with food. This conditioning is how attachments form between the mother and the source of pleasure according to the learning theory.
Bowlby argued that the attachment behaviours in both caregivers and babies evolved ensuring the survival of the baby until maturity and reproduce. Babies produce instincts like crying and smiling which encourages the caregiver to look after it. Parents especial mothers as per to Bowlby have instincts to protect their baby from harm and nurture them ensuring their survival until maturity. Those babies and mother who don’t possess these behaviours have been less successful. A second most important concept in Bowlby’s theory was the idea of monotrophy a single attachment to one person who is most important to the baby.
He called this classical conditioning. Therefore, this gives the learning theory validity that such aspects occur for attachment. However, food may not be the only reinforce. Harlow found that the infant monkeys spent their time clinging to their cloth mother, even though there was no nourishment to be gained from her. He concluded that the monkeys have an innate (unlearned) need for contact comfort.
Explanations of Attachment Attachments can be formed in two different ways; the learning theory focuses on rewards given to a baby, such as food and comfort. The evolutionary theory focuses on adaptation and survival. In this essay I shall be exploring the two, and their supporting and contradicting evidence. The learning theory argues that attachments are based on operant and classical conditioning. First attachments are usually formed with the primary caregiver; the one who changes their nappies, feeds them and comforts them.
There are various explanations for attachment, but one of the most used by behaviourists is the Learning Theory. This theory suggests that attachment is formed through either classical, which involves learning through association i.e. ; an unconditioned stimulus as food can produce pleasure meaning the person who feeds the infant, most likely the caregiver is associated pleasure thus forming an attachment or operant conditioning which is learning through rewards or punishment. The Learning Theory attempt to explain attachment, which is referred sometimes to the cupboard love theory, as this theory proposes that the infant only becomes attached in this instance because he or she is fed and the infant becomes attached to the person who feeds him or her. However, the operant conditioning side was used by Dollard and Miller in 1951, which they claimed was more complex as the infant feels uncomfortable when they are hungry and their primary caregiver reduces that discomfort whilst pleasuring them hence them becoming attached.
Stock it with their food bowl, water dish, blanket, and favorite toys. This way, your pet can have a safe, quiet space to retreat to whenever they're overstimulated or overwhelmed by your baby or by general household commotion. There's a baby on the way: preparing your pets (part 2) It's important to desensitize your pet to the rough handling that babies can administer, so that they don't become alarmed and defensive when your baby's hand jerks towards them in an unfamiliar way. While infants can and should be taught to respect the pet's boundaries and preferences, a newborn baby is hardly capable of learning these things, or even controlling their own movements properly. This is why your pet will need to get comfortable being touched in new and unexpected places for a while - on their face, paws, stomach and tail, for example.