EXPLANATIONS OF ATTACHMENT - LEARNING THEORY Flashcards
who came up with learning theory?
Dollard and Miller
what are the 2 types of conditioning?
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
classical conditioning involves…
learning to associate 2 stimuli together
give an example of classical conditioning in attachment
food (UCS) leads to pleasure (UCR) , mother (NS) associated with food and becomes a conditioned stimulus giving the conditioned response of pleasure
operant conditioning involves…
maintaining and reinforcing behaviour
what are the two types of reinforcement?
positive and negative reinforcement
what is negative reinforcement?
responding to something in order to stop it
give an example of negative reinforcement in attachment?
when a mother gives a baby food in order to stop it rom crying, responding the avoid the negative consequence
what is positive reinforcement?
responding to something in order to get something
give an example of positive reinforcement in attachment?
when a baby cries in order to get food, responding in order to get something good
drive reduction is…
how attachment is a secondary drive learned by associating primary caregiver and satisfaction of the hunger drive
what 2 things show feeding is not an important factor in attachment?
animal studies
human research
how do animal studies criticise learning theory?
in both animal studies, the animals maintained attachments regardless of who fed them
since learning theorists believe humans and non-human animals are the same this means…
that food doesn’t create an attachment in humans
how does human research criticise learning theory?
Schaffer and Emerson’s research
how does Schaffer and Emerson’s research criticise learning theory?
found primary caregiver is not the one that fed the baby, no unconditioned stimulus is involved what matters is the time spent with the child and interacting with it
what did Schaffer and Emerson say mattered more in forming attachements?
mattered more about responding to signals
what is a strength of learning theory?
some elements of conditioning could still be involved as many aspects of human development are affected by conditioning
what is an example of classical conditioning elsewhere?
primary caregiver and comfort could build on attachment
who created an alternative explanation for learning theory?
Hay and Vespo
what did Hay and Vespo identify?
social learning theory
social learning theory is…
parents teach children by modelling behaviours and rewarding them with approval when showing their attachment e.g. smiling
the consequence of rewarding in SLT is…
learned attachment through interactions, fitting in with reciprocity and interactional synchrony
what is ‘cupboard love?’
children learn to love whoever feeds them, importance of food in attachment formation
