Explanations of Attachment: learning Theory

– One of the major approaches to understanding behaviour id the learning theory which proposes that certain behaviours are innate but most behaviours are learned through experience

– Explanations for learning of behaviour include classical and operant conditioning

DOLLARD AND MILLER (1950)

– Proposed that caregiver-infant interaction can be explained by learning theory

– It emphasises the importance of the caregiver as a provider of food

– Children learn to love whoever feeds them

– They do this through classical and operant conditioning

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

– Learning through association

– CC involves learning to associate two stimuli together so that we begin to respond to one in the same way as we already respond to the other.

– The process begins with an innate stimulus response

– In the case of attachment, this innate stimulus is food which produces the innate response of pleasure

– Therefore, food serves as the unconditioned stimulus and pleasure is the unconditioned response

– The caregiver starts as a neutral stimulus.

– When the same person provides the food over time they become associated with ‘food’.

– The neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus.

– Once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver provides a conditioned response of happiness/ pleasure.

– This explains how children become attached to their caregivers as they learn to associate them with food which innately produces pleasure

BEFORE CONDITIONING:  Unconditioned Stimulus (Food) = Unconditioned Response (Pleasure)

DURING CONDITIONING:  Neutral Stimulus (Caregiver) + US (food) = UR (Pleasure)

AFTER CONDITIONING:  NS (Caregiver) = UR (Pleasure)

OPERANT CONDITIONING

– Learning through reinforcement

– Involves learning whether or not to repeat behaviour depending on its consequences.

– If a behaviour produces a pleasant consequence, that behaviour is likely to be repeated again, the behaviour has been reinforced.

– If a behaviour produces an unpleasant consequence it is less likely to be repeated.

– Operant conditioning can explain why babies cry for comfort as crying leads to a response from the caregiver, for example feeding.

– When a baby is uncomfortable (hungry) there is an innate drive to reduce this discomfort

– When the baby is fed the drive is reduced and this produces a feeling of pleasure

– This rewarding is called negative reinforcement as the behaviour is reinforced to escape something unpleasant

– As long as the caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced.

– This reinforcement is a two way process, at the same time as the baby is reinforced for crying, the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops.

– Both the baby and the caregiver receives negative reinforcement and both of their behaviours are repeated more often

EVALUATION: OF LEARNING THEORY

LIMITATIONS

Counter Research – Animals

– A range of animal studies have shown that actually young animals do not necessarily attach to or imprint on those who feed them.

– For example, Lorenz’s geese imprinted before they were fed and Harlow’s monkeys were attached to a cloth mother that gave them comfort, even avoiding the wire mother which provided food

– In both of these animal studies it is clear that attachment does not form as a result of feeding

– Learning theorists believed that non-human animals and humans were equivalent and therefore this must be the same for humans as well so why do they ignore these studies

– Therefore, there is animal research to suggest that attachment is not the result of feeding

Counter Research – Humans

– Research with human infants also shows that feeding does not appear to be an important factor in humans.

– For example, in Schaffer and Emerson’s study many of the babies developed a primary attachment to their biological mother even though other carers did most of the feeding.

– These findings are a problem for learning theory as they show that feeding is not the key element to attachment and so there is no unconditioned stimulus or primary drive involved.

Ignores Other Factors

– The quality of attachment is also associated with factors like developing reciprocity and good levels of interactional synchrony.

– In addition, studies have shown that the best quality attachments are with sensitive carers that pick up infant signals and respond appropriately.

– It is very hard to reconcile these findings with the idea of cupboard love.

– If attachment developed purely or primarily as a result of feeding, there would be no purpose for these complex interactions

– Thus, we would not expect to find relationships between them and the quality of infant caregiver attachment.

– Therefore, this shows that there are other factors that go into attachment that learning theory ignores