Attachment - Explanation of attachment> Learning theory

Question 1

Who proposed the cupboard love theory?

Answer 1

Dolland and Miller (1950)

Question 2

What is the Cupboard Love theory?

Answer 2

Children become attached to their caregiver because they learn that caregivers meet physical needs i.e food.

Question 3

What theory is the Cupboard Love theory based on?

Answer 3

Learning theory - behaviour including attachment can be explained by classical and operant conditioning

Question 4

How is classical conditioning involved with the cupboard love theory?

Answer 4

Learning by association when two stimuli are presented together at multiple times e.g food (UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS) and the mother (NEUTRAL). Pleasure (UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE) starts to become associated with the mother (CONDITIONED RESPONSE). Now the response of pleasure (CONDITIONED) happens whenever the mother appears.

Question 5

What is the ‘food’ in classical conditioning?

Answer 5

The unconditioned stimulus

Question 6

What is the ‘mother’ in classical conditioning?

Answer 6

The neutral stimulus

Question 7

What is ‘pleasure’ in classical conditioning?

Answer 7

Unconditioned response and then conditioned response whenever the infant sees the mother

Question 8

How is operant conditioning involved in the Cupboard love theory?

Answer 8

Learning by trial and error (consequences). Pleasurable consequences (food) for crying behaviour acts as positive reinforcement, making the crying more frequent. Stopping the crying when food is produced is negative reinforcement for parents.

Question 9

What are the strengths of learning theories?

Answer 9

HAS FACE VALIDITY
Supported by a significant amount of well controlled research. It ‘makes sense’ that babies would cry more if they learnt that it gained attention/food

ENVIRONMENTALLY REDUCTIONIST
Explains the complex infant-caregiver interactions and emotions as the result of simplistic processes like the S-R links and patterns of reinforcement

Question 10

What are the weaknesses of learning theory?

Answer 10

HARLOW’S FINDINGS CONTRADICT LT
Harlow’s infant monkeys did not attach to the surrogate wire mother that provided milk but attached to the cloth mothers that provided physical affection => rejects cupboard love theory

CONTRASTS with Bowlby’s monotropic theory