L6 - learning theory of attachment

Question 1

how does classical conditioning cause an attachment bond to develop

Answer 1

food is an US, which causes pleasure (UR)
person providing food is a NS
over time, person giving food is associated with pleasure from food
person becomes CS which produced pleasure (CR)

Question 2

how does operant conditioning cause an attachment bond to strengthen

Answer 2

• baby receives +ive reinforcement, baby cries when hungry so caregiver feeds them
• caregiver receives -ive reinforcement, feeds baby when they cry as baby makes crying stop

Question 3

strength of the learning theory

Answer 3

plausible and scientific
likely that association between provision of needs and person providing needs leads to strong attachments

Question 4

weaknesses of the learning theory

Answer 4

• harlows study: monkeys clung to soft cloth mother even if it didn’t provide milk, suggests that comfort is more important than food
• environmentally reductionist: explains complex human behaviour in an overly simplistic way, unlikely that attachment is merely the result of the caregiver providing food, it is environmentally deterministic
• explains how attachments form but not why, according to bowlbys theory, infants form an attachment to ensure they are protected