Learning theory of attachment Flashcards
What was the learning theory of attachment according to Dollard and Miller (1950)
attachment is a learned behaviour that is acquired through both classical and operant conditioning. Their approach is sometimes called a ‘cupboard love’ approach because it emphasises the importance of the caregiver as a provider for food.
what is the unconditioned stimulus in terms of attachment?
food
what is the unconditioned response in terms of attachment?
pleasure
what is the neutral stimulus in terms of attachment?
the primary caregiver
after association, what is the conditioned stimulus in terms of attachment?
the primary caregiver
after association, what is the conditioned response in terms of attachment?
pleasure
how does operant conditioning work in terms of attachment towards the mother
negative reinforcement. For example, when the baby is hungry it will cry when in an uncomfortable state but when fed by the primary caregiver and when association occurs, the baby will cry ti get the caregivers attention and feel comfort when they are present therefore attachment has been learned.
how does operant conditioning work in terms of attachment towards the baby
negative reinforcement. For example, every time the baby cries due to hunger the caregiver will become distressed and feed the baby to avoid the feeling of stress and feel pleasure as the crying will stop.
what strengthens the attachment according to the learning theory explanation of attachment?
mutual reinforcement.
what is drive reduction?
where infants are born with innate drives (hunger and thirst) which only the mother can provide them to survive and achieve a state of homeostatis.
What did Sears et al (1957) suggest about drive reduction
as caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them. Therefore, attachment is the secondary drive which occurs after the association between the caregiver and the primary drive
One strength of the learning theory to explain attachment.
) POINT: Learning theory can provide an adequate explanation of how attachments form. EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: For example, we do seem to learn in a number of ways through association in real-life (e.g. we associate certain situations with danger when we develop phobias even if that association is irrational). The case of Little Albert shows that classical conditioning is the process by which we learn a variety of behaviours. Little Albert’s case shows that when you combine a loud noise (an unconditioned stimulus) with a neutral stimulus (a rat) after much repetition, this creates a conditioned response (fear of the rat).EVALUATION: This is positive because it suggests learning theory may at least play a part in attachment formation.
Another strength of the learning theory to explain attachment
(2) POINT: Evidence against learning theory comes from Harlow’s research (1959) EXAMPLE/EVIDENCE: He found that when newborn Rhesus monkeys were separated from their mother after birth and placed in a cage with 2 wire ‘mothers’ where one ‘mother’ consisted of exposed wire and a feeding bottle and the other ‘mother’ was wrapped in a soft cloth but offered no food, the monkey’s spent most of their time with the soft cloth ‘mother’ rather than the mother offering food. EVALUATION: This is a weakness because it suggests ‘cupboard love’ is unlikely to explain attachment as the monkeys should have attached to the mother with food but often will become attached to the caregiver offering comfort.
One weakness of the learning theory of attachment
Learning theory only considers food as the driving force behind attachment formation and quality, not considering other factors such as sensitive responding and developing reciprocity. This makes the explanation over-simplistic.
Another weakness of the learning theory
Dale Hay and Jo Vespo (1988) have used SLT to explain attachment. They suggest that parents teach children to love them by modelling attachment behaviour
