attachment - learning theories to explain attachment

Question 1

learning theory to explain attachments AO1 points (4)

Answer 1

1. secondary drive hypothesis
2. classical conditioning
3. operant conditioning
4. attachment is a 2 way process

Question 2

secondary drive hypothesis (5)

Answer 2

• concept of drive reduction
• hunger = primary drive
• as caregivers provide food primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them
• associate caregiver with satisfaction of primary drive
• attachment = secondary drivelearnt by associating CG w satisfaction of primary drive

Question 3

classical conditioning (5)

Answer 3

attachement learnt by CC
- food (UCS) = pleasure (UCR)
- primary caregiver (NS)
- primary CG (NS) + food (UCS) = pleasure (UCR)
- primary CG (CS) = pleasure (CR)

Question 4

operant conditioning (4)

Answer 4

• maintains attachment
• when infant cries it leads to a response from caregiver eg feeding
• baby repeats crying behavior in order to recieve confort response from caregiver
• positive reinforcement

Question 5

attachment is two way process (6)

Answer 5

• when baby is hungry it cries
• it is annoying and unpleasent to CG
• primary CG feeds bby so it stops crying
• behavior repeated to avoid unpleasent crying
• negative reinforcement
• mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment

Question 6

AO3

Answer 6

❌ reductionist:
- reduces very complex behavior of attachment to just being based on food

❌ contradicting research: animal studies
- Lorenz: Goslings imprinted on first moving object they saw regardless of if it was associated w food or not
- attachment is innate not learnt
- Harlow: monkeys spend more time w cloth mother than food dispensing mother
- factors other than association with food important in forming attachment

❌contradicting research on humans
- shauffer and emerson - babies tended to form attachment to their mother regardless of whether she was the one who fed them or not
- research found that high lvls of interactional synchrony predicted quality of attachment
- these factors arent related to feeding

✅ expkanation is clear and can be tested via observations + puts large emphasis on effects of environmental factors which has proven to clearly impact personality
- can be empirically tested and falisified
- approach which explanation is based off has scientific credibility