explanations of attachment: learning theory

Question 1

who proposed that caregiver-infant interaction can be explained by the learning theory

Answer 1

dollard & miller

Question 2

what is this theory also known as

Answer 2

‘cupboard love’ approach

Question 3

what does this theory emphasise

Answer 3

importance of attachment figure as provider of food

Question 4

describe how we can use classical conditioning to explain attachment

Answer 4

bottle of milk (US) –> happy baby (UR)
bottle of milk (US) + mother (NS) –> happy baby (UR)
mother (CS) –> happy baby (CR)

Question 5

how can we use operant conditioning to explain attachment - negative reinforcement

Answer 5

baby
1. baby feels discomfort as they’re hungry, so they cry
2. mother feeds baby & removes discomfort
3. discomfort removed = negative reinforcement

mother
1. baby cries
2. baby fed
3. crying stops = negative reinforcement

Question 6

what is hunger an example of

Answer 6

primary reinforcer

Question 6

what’s a primary drive

Answer 6

innate, biological motivator

Question 7

what did robert sears et. al (1957) suggest

Answer 7

as the caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them

Question 7

what is attachment & what is it learnt by

Answer 7

a secondary reinforcer learnt by association between caregiver & satisfaction of primary drive

Question 7

example of drive reduction

Answer 7

being fed

Question 7

AO3 -) lack of research support from studies conducted on animals

Answer 7

E:
- geese within lorenz’s study imprinted on the first moving object, regardless of whether this object was associated with food
- no support for importance of food from harlow’s research on rhesus monkeys
- monkeys displayed attachment behaviour towards cloth-covered surrogate ‘mother’ in preference to the wire one which provided milk

T: studies show how other factors are important in the formation of attachments, other than association with food

Question 8

AO3 -) lack of support from studies on human babies

Answer 8

E:
- schaffer & emerson (1964) found babies formed their main attachment with their mother, regardless of whether she usually fed them
- isabella et al. (1989) also found high levels of interactional synchrony predicted quality of attachment
- these factors are unrelated to feeding

T: further suggests that food is not the main factor in the formation of human attachments

Question 9

AO3 +) elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment
-) both the operant and classical conditioning explanations see the baby playing a relatively passive role in the development of attachments

Answer 9

E:
- baby may associate feeling warm and comfortable with the presence of a particular adult
- which may influence their decision of their main attachment figure

T: learning theory may still be useful in understanding the development of attachments

HOWEVER: both the operant and classical conditioning explanations see the baby playing a relatively passive role in the development of attachments, where they simply respond to associations with comfort or reward
- research shows babies play a very active role in interactions which produce attachment (Feldman and Eidelman 2007)
T: means conditioning may not be an adequate explanation of any aspect of attachment