explanations of attachment - the learning theory Flashcards
(12 cards)
describe attachment in terms of learning through association.
step 1: food=unconditioned stimulus
— pleasure=unconditioned response.
step 2: mother=neutral stimulus and food=unconditioned stimulus
— pleasure=unconditioned response.
step 3: mother=controlled stimulus
— pleasure=controlled response.
describe Dollard and Miller’s explanation of attachment.
they explain attachment in terms of operant conditioning and ‘drive’ reduction theory.
a ‘drive’ is something that motivates behaviour e.g - a hungry infant = a drive to reduce hunger.
attachment happens because the child seeks out the person who supplies the reward/reinforcement.
what is a positive reinforcer?
something that rewards behaviour i.e crying causes caregiver to feed them, so the crying behaviour is useful as it reduces hunger.
- positive reinforcement of attachment happens to baby.
what is a negative reinforcer?
when a response switches off something unpleasant i.e sound of baby crying is unpleasant for mum so mum will attempt to stop crying by feeding and comforting baby.
- negative reinforcement of attachment happens to mum.
combine both classical and operant conditioning to explain attachment.
food is a primary reinforcer (the reward that reduced hunger) through classical conditioning and the person who supplied the food becomes a secondary reinforcer and a source of pleasure.
what is the unconditioned stimulus?
the infants biological needs, such as hunger, creates discomfort and satisfying these needs (feeding) leads to pleasure.
what is the unconditioned response?
the infant feels pleasure when their needs are satisfied.
what is the neutral stimulus?
initially, the mother is the NS as she is not innately associated with satisfying the infants needs.
describe the association.
over time the infant begins associating mother (NS) with satisfying their needs (UCS) - the mother is present when feeding which results in infant associating the comfort and pleasure of feeding with her.
describe the controlled stimulus and controlled response.
the mother becomes a CS - this means her presence alone is enough to trigger sense of security and pleasure in the infant (now a CR) even without the original UCS (feeding)
EVALUATION 1
there is counter evidence from animal research:
- in harlow’s study, monkeys formed stronger attachments with soft comforting mother rather than one supplying food.
- in lorenz’s study, geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw, which contradicts that attachment is a learning learning behaviour.
there is counter evidence from human research:
- schaffer and emerson found that attachments seem to be formed in responsive individuals rather than those who provided care - found that less than half of infants primarily bonded with one who fed - this challenges the theory’s association that feeding is the main drive of attachment formation.
EVALUATION 2
- it ignores other factors associated with forming attachments: reciprocity and synchrony - babies are more likely to form attachments with someone who responds to their signals and needs.
- some elements of conditioning could be involved in attachment behaviour: rather than feeding being the main UCS, comfort could be the UCS - Ainsworth states that attachment is depended on mothers emotions, responsiveness, behaviours etc.
- social learning theory can contribute: we learn by copying and observing the primary caregiver - parents teach attachment behaviour by modelling it to the child.
