Explanations if attachment: Learning theory Flashcards
What is the basic idea of the Learning Theory of attachment?
Attachment is learned through conditioning; babies attach to whoever feeds them.
What is the cupboard love theory?
The idea that babies form attachments to caregivers who provide food.
In classical conditioning, what is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in attachment?
Food
What is the unconditioned response (UCR) to food in classical conditioning?
Pleasure
How does the caregiver become a conditioned stimulus (CS)?
By being repeatedly associated with food.
What is the conditioned response (CR) when seeing the caregiver?
Pleasure – interpreted as “love” or attachment.
How does operant conditioning explain attachment?
Babies cry, and when caregivers respond (e.g., feeding or comforting), the baby is positively reinforced to continue crying to gain attention.
What is negative reinforcement in the caregiver’s perspective?
The baby stops crying when comforted, which removes an unpleasant stimulus for the caregiver, reinforcing their caregiving.
What is a primary drive in attachment theory?
A biological motivator like hunger.
What is a secondary drive according to learning theory?
Attachment, learned by associating the caregiver with the satisfaction of the primary drive (e.g. feeding).
limitation (1) of LEARNING THEORY
One limitation of learning theory explanations for attachment is lack of support from studies conducted on animals.
For example, Lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw regardless of whether this object was associated with food. Also, if we consider Harlow’s research with monkeys, there is no support for the importance of food.
When given a choice, Harlow’s monkeys displayed attachment behaviour towards a soft surrogate ‘mother’ in preference to a wire one which provided milk.
This shows that factors other than association with food are important in the formation of attachments.
limitation (2) of LEARNING THEORY
A further limitation of learning theory explanations is lack of support from studies of human babies.
For example Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) found that babies tended to form their main attachment to their mother regardless of whether she was the one who usually fed them. In another study, Russell Isabella et al.
(1989) found that high levels of interactional synchrony predicted the quality of attachment. These factors are not related to feeding.
This again suggests that food is not the main factor in the formation of human attachments.
strength of LEARNING THEORY
One strength of learning theory is that elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment.
It seems unlikely that association with food plays a central role in attachment, but conditioning may still play a role. For example a baby may associate feeling warm and comfortable with the presence of a particular adult, and this may influence the baby’s choice of their main attachment figure.
This means that learning theory may still be useful in understanding the development of attachments.
