learning theory of attachment(explanations of attachment)

Question 1

importance of food

Answer 1

sometimes called ‘cupboard love’ because it emphasises the importance of food in attachment formation.Children learn to love whoever feeds them

Question 2

role of classical conditioning

Answer 2

classical conditioning involves learning to associate two stimuli
in attachment:
ucs(food) leads to ucr (a feeling of pleasure)This response is not learned so it is an unconditioned response

Question 3

baby learns that mother produces a sense of pleasure

Answer 3

caregiver starts as a ns i.e a thing that produces a neutral stimulus

this person providing food overtime becomes associated with food so the neutral stimulus becomes a cs

once conditioning takes place the sight of the caregiver produces a cr of pleasure.according to a learning theorist , this is the basis of attachment love

Question 4

role of operant conditioning

Answer 4

operant conditioning explains why babies cry for comfort (an important building block for attachment)

crying leads to response from the caregiver (eg feeding)
.as long as the caregiver provides the correct response ,crying is reinforced because it produces a pleasurable consequence

Question 5

negative reinforcement

Answer 5

at the same time the baby is reinforced for crying,the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops (negative reinforcement is escaping form something unpleasant , which is reinforcing)

this interplay of positive/negative reinforcement strengthens an attachment

Question 6

drive reduction

Answer 6

hunger is a primary drive , an innate biological motivator .we are not motivated to eat to reduce the hunger drive

attachment is a secondary drive ;earned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive.sears et al(1957) suggested that as caregivers provide food ,the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them

Question 7

study to contradict the theory (ao3)

Answer 7

harlow

the learning theory would suggest the monkey would spend more time with the wire mother as this provided the food

however the monkey spent 22 hours with the cloth mother showing that food is not the most important factor in establishing attachment

Question 8

study to support the theory (ao3)

Answer 8

• dollard and miller
  babies are fed over 2000 times in their first year by the main carer
• this is easily enough for an association between caregiver and feeding to be formed
• overall learning theory has very little research support -reduces the validity of the theory