explanations of attachment - learning theory

Question 1

what are the main assumptions of learning theory of attachment?

Answer 1

• the child will form attachments on the basis of primary care provision (feeding etc)
• the motivation to learn is due to drive reduction (thirst, hunger)

Question 2

what are the 2 types of conditioning used?

Answer 2

• classical conditioning
• operant conditioning

Question 3

what does classical conditioning involve?

Answer 3

learning to associate 2 stimuli together

Question 4

give an example of CC in attachment

Answer 4

food (UCS) leads to pleasure (UCR), mother (NS) associated with food and becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) giving the conditioned response (CR) of pleasure

• this means that the baby feels happier when the mother is near
• this is the beginning of the formation of an attachment

Question 5

what does operant conditioning involve?

Answer 5

maintaining and reinforcing behaviour

Question 6

give an example of OC in attachment

Answer 6

• child carries out an action such as crying, which triggers a response, such as the mother coming to comfort or feed the baby (pos reinf)
• the more this happens, the more that the action is reinforced, as the child associates the mother with those rewards
• i.e the reward for crying encourages the child to cry more to receive more rewards like attention and food
• food is the primary reinforcer
• the mother is the secondary reinforcer

Question 7

evaluation: contradicting evidence

Answer 7

ID: there is contradicting evidence for attachment being the basis of feeding
Q: this research suggests that contact comfort might be more important than food as a cause of attachment
EX: for example, Harlow’s research on monkeys also challenges the learning theory of attachment because the monkeys were more attached to the comforting mother than the feeding mother, which may translate to human attachment too. Furthermore, Schaffer and Emerson found that more than 1/2 of infants were not attached to the person primarily involved in physical care
AN: This may suggest that there is no unconditioned stimulus (of food) and
even if there is, it has very little influence upon the formation of attachments

Question 8

evaluation: reductionist + ELAB: animal study applicability

Answer 8

ID: the learning theory of attachment can be criticised for being reductionist
Q: this means that it ignores biology and is environmentally deterministic as it suggests that early learning determines later attachment behaviours
EX: for example, although conditioning may explain some behaviours, to explain all attachment behaviour in terms of conditioning may be overly reductive, due to ignoring the role of nature and evolutionary benefits of attachment
AN: therefore, a limitation of the learning theory is that conditioning has been seen as oversimplifying the complex behaviour of attachment, providing a limited explanation
ELAB: furthermore, most research for learning theory is based on animals, which means that the findings may not be applicable for human attachment

Question 9

evaluation: alternative explanations (Bowlby)

Answer 9

ID: a criticism of learning theory is that there are alternative explanations for attachment
Q: such as Bowlby’s evolutionary theory
EX: for example, evolutionary theorists such as Bowlby, argue that attachment is innate, this explains why attachments form and the benefits of attachment, whereas learning theory only explains how they form.
AN: therefore, Bowlby’s theory may be more useful for understanding of attachment as it suggests that attachment evolved as a behaviour which would enhance survival.