The Learning Theory Flashcards
What is the learning theory of attachment??
Is a behaviourist explanation that suggests that attachments are learnt through the environment and are a result of nurture rather than nature. It sometimes is referred to as a cupboard love theory as the infant attaches to the caregiver who provides food.
Attachment like all behaviours is learnt rather than inborn and that children are born as blank slates and they are shaped by their experiences
What are the two main areas of this theory??
Classical and operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning??
Involves the formation of associations between different events and stimuli. This explains how an emotional bond is formed through associations with comfort and security contributing to the infants attachment with their mother
How does the theory explain attachment
Suggests that infants learn to associate their caregivers with satisfying their needs and subsequent pleasure so they emotionally bond/ attach to this pleasure providing figure
Food automatically satisfies a baby’s basic need and causes pleasure. The caregiver usually provides this source of pleasure and because of this process is constantly repeated the caregiver then becomes a source of pleasure in themselves and an attachment is formed. The caregiver has been associated with food which leads to attachment
Example of classical conditioning for learning theory??
UCS=UCR
FOOD=PLEASURE
NS=NO RESPONSE
PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURE(mother) = NO RESPONSE
NS+UCS=UCR
PAF+FOOD=PLEASURE
CS=CR
PAF=PLEASURE
Why is stimulus generalisation an important part of classical conditioning in attachment??
Can influence responses of the conditioned stimulus. Once a person has been trained to respond to a stimulus, very similar stimuli may produce the same response as well. Sometimes this can be problematic, particularly in cases where the individual needs to be able to distinguish between stimuli and respond only to a very specific stimulus
How does operant conditioning explain the learning theory of attachment???
Food to a child is a primary reinforcer, as it fulfils a biological need and the child’s caregiver becomes a secondary reinforcer because they provide the primary reinforcer(food)
This means the child will try and stay as close to the caregiver as they can this attachment behaviour can be referred to as proximity seeking
Also, when the caregiver feeds the child, the crying stops. This acts as negative reinforcement for the caregiver and in the future when the child cries they will comfort it in the same way because this removed the negative experience in the past
Other people feeding will mean that the child will form multiple attachments, this is referred as stimulus generalisation
What is a negative reinforcer??
Behaviour that increases behaviours by removing negative consequences or stimuli
What is a primary reinforcer??
A naturally occurring reaction to a stimulus. The response is innate and doesn’t require learning (water,food or sleep)
What is a secondary reinforcer??
Is a stimulus that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer
What is proximity seeking behaviour??
Are behaviours that seeks to restore closeness, when the infant is separated from the attachment figure
What does operant conditioning propose??
It proposed that infants are in a drive state, a form of internal tension or discomfort that motivates an organism to engage in behaviours that will reduce this discomfort. It is an impulse that prompts action to fulfil a need and restore equilibrium.
What is a primary drive???
Hunger is a primary drive (innate and biological)
What did Dillard and Miller emphasise in operant conditioning??
That a child’s attachment is primarily due to the caregiver providing food rather than an emotional bond. When an infant is hungry, they experience discomfort and motivates them to reduce the discomfort which then when the drive is fed and satisfied hunger the infant learns that food as a primary reinforcer
What are the strengths of the learning theory??
Research support
Scientific - X2
