Learning Theory Of Attachment Flashcards
What is classical conditioning?
A natural response to an environmental stimulus becomes associated with something else
What is the stimulus in attachment?
food
What is the unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response in attachment?
UCS - food
UCR - satisfaction
What is the neutral stimulus in attachment?
Caregiver
How does the baby learn to form an attachment through classical conditioning?
Unconditioned stimulus (food) is paired with the neutral stimulus (caregiver) and this response is satisfaction from the infant and eventually over time the infant will receive satisfaction from the caregiver without the food being present causing an attachment to form
How does attachment form through operant conditioning?
If you are given a reward for doing something you will do it again. The child will learn that if they spend time with the primary care giver they will receive food (reward). So they attach to the primary care giver because they are rewarding
What did Donald and Miller suggest?
Donald and Miller suggested that attachment develops through primary and secondary reinforcers
Food is the primary reinforcer because it is satisfying and stops the child being hungry. The child will then associate the mother with food and she will be some the secondary reinforcer.
The child will form an attachment because she is rewarding them
How could Harlow’s research not support the learning theory explanation of attachment?
Harlow’s research suggested that rhesus monkeys spent most of their time attached to the cloth covered monkey rather than the one that provided food. The learning theory would suggest that the monkeys would attach to the one that provided food as it would satisfy their hunger drive. Therefore there must be another reason babies attach other than food.
How can the research into learning theory be flawed?
Conducted on animals, Harlow’s monkeys, Pavlov, etc. This is problematic as humans are physiologically and cognitively very different to animals and have a range of environmental factors that could affect the way we attach that are not existent in humans. This means that we cannot generalise the findings of studies such as Harlow or Pavlov. Therefore we cannot certainly determine how humans form an attachment based on research conducted on animals
How does Schaffer and Emerson’s findings challenge the learning theory?
They found that less than half of the babies they studied had their main attachment with the person who feeds them. Most were attached to the person who was the most responsive and who interacted with them the most. This suggests that a lot of babies attach to someone other than the person who gives them food which contradicts the learning theory
How can the learning theory have explanatory power?
Although it does not provide a complete explanation of attachment it has value as infants do learn though association and reinforcements. While the learning theory implicates food in the theory, it could be that attention and responsiveness as Schaffer and Emerson suggest are the main factors in attachment, acting as reinforcers. This means that infants may well attach as a result of their rewards they receive from caregivers which would suggest that the learning theory is a plausible explanation
