Explanations Of Attachment - Learning Theory Flashcards
what classical conditioning involve?
involves learning to associate two stimuli together so that we begin to respond to one in the same way as we already respond to the other.
explain classical conditioning in terms of attachment
food = unconditioned stimulus.
being fed gives us pleasure = unconditioned response.
a caregiver = neutral stimulus (something that produces no response).
however when the caregiver provides food over time they become associated with food. when the baby then sees this person there is an expectation of food. the neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus. once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure.
what does operant conditioning involve?
involves learning from the consequences of behaviour.
if a behaviour produces a pleasant consequence that behaviour is likely to be repeated again = reinforced.
if a behaviour produces an unpleasant consequence (punishment) it is less likely to be repeated.
explain why babies cry for comfort in terms of operant conditioning
crying leads to a response from the caregiver (feeding). caregiver provides the correct response = crying is reinforced.
the baby then directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver who responds with comforting ‘social suppressor’ behaviour. this reinforcement is a two way process.
at the same time the baby is reinforced for crying the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops - escaping from something unpleasant is reinforcing.
this interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens an attachment.
limitation - counter evidence from animals studies
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 - counter evidences from studies on humans
lack of support from studies of human babies - schaffer and 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 isabella (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.
Discuss research showing babies as having an active role as a limitation.
both classical and operant conditioning explanations see the baby playing a relatively passive role in attachment development simply responding to associations with comfort or reward.
in fact research shows that babies take a very active role in the interactions that produce attachment - feldman and eidelman (2007).
this means that conditioning may not be an adequate explanation of any aspect of attachment.
However -
although it seems unlikely that association with food plays a central role in attachment, 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 babies choice of their main attachment figure.
this means that learning theory may still be useful in understanding the development of attachments.
