explanation for attachment: learning theory Flashcards
what did learning theorists John Dollard and Neal Miller propose
they proposed that caregiver- infant attachment can be explained by learning theory
what is the approach sometimes called
“cupboard love” because it emphasises the importance of the caregiver as a provider of food
-basically they proposed that children learn to love whoever feeds them
what is classical conditioning
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
how can we apply classical conditioning to attachment
in the case of attachment:
food serves as an UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS being fed gives us pleasure - we don’t learn that, it is an UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE
The caregiver starts as a NEUTRAL STIMULUS
when the same perso provides the food over time they become associated with food - when the baby sees this person, there is an immediate expectation of food
the NEUTRAL STIMULUS has become a CONDITIONED STIMULUS
Once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure - to learning theorists this is love
what is opernant conditioning
it involves learning to repeat a beahviour or not depending on its consequence
what does opernant conditioning have to do with attachment
crying leads to a response from the caregiver e.g. feeding, as long as the caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced
This reinforcement is a two- way process as the caregiver recieves negative reinforcement because the crying stops - escaping from something unpleasant is reinforcing
This interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens an attachment
what is drive reduction
learning theorists also draw on the concept of drive reduction
Hunger can be thought of as a primary drive - it’s an innate, biological motivation
We are motivated to eat inorder too reduce the hunger drive
Sears et al (1957) suggested that as caregiver provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them
Detachment us thus a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfactions of a primary drive
