Questions: Which theorist hypothesized that attachment was based more on a sense of comfort through contact rather than the mere act of feeding? Freud Harlow Skinner Ainsworth

Which theorist hypothesized that attachment was based more on a sense of comfort through contact rather than the mere act of feeding?
Freud
Harlow
Skinner
Ainsworth
Transcript text: Which theorist hypothesized that attachment was based more on a sense of comfort through contact rather than the mere act of feeding? Freud Harlow Skinner Ainsworth
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Solution

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The answer is Harlow: the original text in the question...

Explanation for each option:

  1. Freud: Sigmund Freud did not specifically hypothesize about attachment being based on comfort through contact. Freud's theories were more focused on psychosexual development and the role of early childhood experiences in shaping personality. He believed that the bond between mother and child was primarily driven by the child's need for food and the mother's role in satisfying that need.

  2. Harlow: Harry Harlow is the correct answer. Harlow conducted famous experiments with rhesus monkeys in the 1950s and 1960s, which demonstrated that infant monkeys preferred to cling to a soft, cloth-covered surrogate mother rather than a wire mother that provided food. This led to the conclusion that comfort and tactile contact were more important for attachment than the mere act of feeding.

  3. Skinner: B.F. Skinner was a behaviorist who focused on operant conditioning and reinforcement. While he studied behavior and learning, he did not specifically address the concept of attachment being based on comfort through contact.

  4. Ainsworth: Mary Ainsworth is known for her work on attachment theory, particularly the "Strange Situation" procedure, which assessed the quality of attachment between infants and their caregivers. However, her work built on the foundation laid by John Bowlby and did not specifically hypothesize that attachment was based more on comfort through contact rather than feeding.

In summary, Harry Harlow's research provided the key evidence that attachment is based more on a sense of comfort through contact rather than the mere act of feeding.

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