Outline and evaluate the learning theory of attachment Essay Example for Free

Outline and evaluate the learning theory of attachment Essay The learning theory of attachment focuses of two concepts; operant and classical conditioning. Classical conditioning as an explanation for attachment describes the baby receiving food (and unconditioned stimulus) and producing an unconditioned response (happiness) and the mother feeding the baby will be the neutral stimulus. The baby will then experience the mother giving them food (and therefore happiness) a number of times and then learn to associate the mother (now a conditioned stimulus) with the feeling of happiness (a conditioned response) and thus an attachment will form. Operant conditioning describes attachment as a reinforced response. When a baby gets food its discomfort will become happiness and the baby will associate this feeling with food and therefore food will become the primary reinforcer. The person feeding the baby will also be associated with the happiness and therefore become the secondary reinforcer and an attachment will form. (evaluate) Even though the learning theory of attachment provides an adequate explanation of attachment it is flawed. Research evidence, such as that of Harlows monkey study, opposes the idea of learning theory as an explanation of attachment. Harlows monkey study involved giving a baby monkey the choice of either food or comfort (food was portrayed by a wire monkey with a feeding bottle attached to it and comfort was portrayed by a wire monkey covered in cloth). According to the learning theory of attachment the monkey should have spent most of his time on the food monkey, however the opposite was true the monkey spent the majority of his time on the comfort monkey. This decreases the validity of the learning theory of attachment as an explanation for attachment because the findings of Harlows monkey study opposed what it suggested. However, the monkey study was conducted on monkeys and it could be argued that this is not an accurate representation of human attachment. Humans are a lot more c omplex than animals and so therefore research on animals to study behaviour cannot be applied to human behaviour. Outline and evaluate the learning theory of attachment (12 marks) A GRADE (outline)

Ethics and Community in Aristotle :: Philosophy Essays

Ethics and Community in Aristotle ABSTRACT: I show that Aristotle’s ethics is determined by his notion of communities which are in turn determined by hundreds of themes in his Topics-sameness and difference, part and whole, better than, etc. These are tools for all dialectical investigations into being and action (viz. Top. I.11 104b2) for they secure definitions and get at essences of things or their aspects. Reflecting structures of being and good, they allow Aristotle to arrive at objective reality and good. Being tools for all investigations into being and values, we are not free to reject them, nor can we have any discourse or claim to reality or good. I show how permutating the combination of these topics allows for subsequent ‘sub-communities’ which are common to some. I offer an Aristotelian explanation for the origin of these topics and conclude that ethics is determined by communities, which in turn are determined by education. Aristotle's ethics is determined by his notion of communities which are determined by hundreds of topics in his Topics—sameness and difference, part and whole, better than, etc.. The topics are tools for all dialectical investigations into being and action (viz. I.11 104b2) for they secure definitions and get at essences of things or their aspects. Reflecting structures of being and good, the topics can get at objective reality and good. Being tools for all investigations, we are not free to reject them or we cannot have any discourse or claim to reality or good. I show how permutating the combination of these topics allow for subsequent 'sub-communities' which are common to some. I offer an Aristotelian explanation for the origin of these topics and conclude that ethics is determined by communities, which in turn are determined by education. The Topics seeks to discover a method by which we reason(1) from generally accepted opinions (endox_n) about any problem (100a18-19, 100a30-b18)—i.e., dialectical reasoning. By "generally accepted opinions,"Aristotle means the kind of "opinion held by everyone or by the majority or by the wise—either all of the wise or the majority or the most famous of them—and which is not paradoxical; for one would accept the opinion of the wise, if it is not opposed to the views of the majority" (104a8-13). Since Aristotle contrasts dialectical reasoning with demonstrative reasoning which proceeds from true and primary premises (100a27-28) and are supported by the "things themselves," it seems easy to suppose that dialectic cannot get us to objective first principles.

Analysis on death of the moth by Virginia Woolf Essay

The passage â€Å"The Death of the Moth† has been excerpted from Virginia Woolf’s (1882-1941) collection of essays and published one year after her death. Throughout this particular passage, she symbolizes a moth and its insignificance yet contribution to nature, along with her views on life and death. She skillfully elaborates about this moth, providing information that reveals it is much more noteworthy than it is treated. She begins her writing with a general idea of moths, and although the sentence â€Å"they are hybrid creatures, neither gay like butterflies nor somber like their own† is written in a factual manner, it is actually not a fact; it is her method of expressing that moths are unique individuals, not completely like butterflies and not completely like their own kind. Virginia’s purpose of displaying it in this factually manner is to verify the strength of her belief in this phrase. The moth was trapped and put so much effort into retrieving its freedom that she felt a slight sense of pity for the trapped moth. Nevertheless, she still watches it without reacting to aid it. As she watches it, she realizes the moth has not given up yet, as if it has plenty to strive for. Woolf describes the moth as â€Å"pathetic†, since it was battling against the inevitable and was in pain because of the profound effort that seemed unworthy in her eyes. We see that with numeral examples from this essay, Virginia carefully chooses her style of writing and literary devices to make her writing effective, detailed, and emotionally expressive. It is difficult to understand what exactly motivates her to write like this, and how exactly it reflects her reason for suicide, but there are still many interpretations. She did, however, persistently mention her fascination by the creature, as it had so much determination to live, thrusting its body uneasily, attempting to save itself. The moth seemed to have a dignity that it was holding on to, as it fought vigorously to live. Personally, I think this is the reason people find her motive to voluntarily give up her own life to be extremely ambiguous. The message Woolf is trying to convey to the reader is that one must give in to death, as it is part of the life cycle. One needs to give in to the inevitable, as all beings will die and it is only a matter of time. Even though this particular moth used to be pathetic in her perspective, Virginia now watched it as if it were a renowned masterpiece. The moth had transformed into becoming a truly magnificent creature in her eyes; thus her use of paradox is meant to keep us thinking and wondering. For sixty years now, students and professors of the English language have been studying her rhetorical modes, in hopes of bringing out the true meaning behind her literature.

Analyzing Social Change Through Functionalism, Conflict...

Albert Einstein said it best, â€Å"The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them† - Albert Einstein(58 Quotes). Social change is an opportunity for positive growth in today’s world, however it may sometimes take a tragedy to get there. Many big events in history such as The French Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement have caused social change, but our world is stronger because of those events. It takes leadership and a desire for growth to make a positive change in today’s society. Many philosophers have theorized social change through functionalism, conflict theory, and punctuated equilibrium. In the early twentieth century, Emile Durkheim along with the help of Talcott†¦show more content†¦Conflict theory is still prevalent today. â€Å"But as in all previous forms of society, a system that was once revolutionary has become the opposite. The potential to make new advances in the way tha t people use resources and produce things to meet their needs [...] has come into conflict with capitalisms social structure, dominated by a ruling class that puts its own wealth and power first†(Maass). In today’s world, products are not made to be distributed in bulk for people who need them, but to make a profit. This type of living creates conflict in society(Maass). An opposing theory, punctuated equilibrium shows society’s changes as happening very unexpectedly and having great effect. Although originated by Ernest Mayr, this theory was first introduced by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould in 1972(Science.jrank.org). These two paleontologists wrote a paper which established the foundation of this theory(Academic Room). â€Å"Mayr later complimented Eldredge and Goulds paper, stating that evolutionary stasis had been unexpected by most evolutionary biologists and that punctuated equilibrium had a major impact on paleontology and evolutionary biology†(Academic Room). Punctuated equilibrium reveals drastic changes in societies over short periods of time. â€Å"The central proposition of punctuated equilibrium embodies three