Explanations of attachments - Learning theories

Question 1

What is learning theory

Answer 1

Learning theory (also known as the behavioural theory) proposes that all behaviour is learned rather than inborn.
either through classical or operant conditioning.

Question 2

What us classical conditioning was

Answer 2

• Classical conditioning is based on learning through association.

Question 3

Pavlov study

Answer 3

• Pavlov with his experiments on dogs found that dogs could salivate at the sound of a bell
Food (UCS) = Salivation = (UCR)
Bell = NS = no response
Food (UCS) + Bell (NS) = Salivation (UCR)
Through repetition an association is created between the bell and food and classical conditioning has occurred because the sound of a bell now elicits salivation
Bell (CS) = Salivation (CR)
With regards to explaining how an attachment is formed through classical conditioning, milk/food is an unconditioned stimulus, which provides the baby with an unconditioned response of pleasure and relief from hunger. This response is automatic and doesn’t need to be learned. The caregiver/mother on the other hand is the neutral stimulus. Over time the baby comes to associate the provider of milk with the milk itself (this is called a conditioned or learned response), and so the caregiver becomes associated with that feeling of pleasure or relief. So the neutral stimulus is now the conditioned stimulus – which is the caregiver and the conditioned response from the baby is pleasure. To a learning theorist this conditioned pleasure response is love, i.e. an attachment is formed and the caregiver becomes the attachment figure.

Question 4

What is operant conditioning

Answer 4

Operant conditioning is based on learning through rewards (reinforcement which can be positive or negative) and punishments (which can also be positive or negative).

Question 5

Skinner research

Answer 5

Skinner- found that rats could learn to press a lever to gain a reward. According to operant conditioning theorists…
1) Behaviours which lead to a reward will be repeated. Every time a behaviour has pleasant consequences it is ‘stamped in’ or reinforced. There are two types of reinforcement:

• Positive reinforcement- gaining pleasure
• Negative reinforcement- the removal of discomfort/displeasure

2) Behaviours which lead to a punishment are less likely to be repeated.

Operant conditioning can explain why babies cry for comfort – an important behaviour in building attachment. Crying leads to a response from the caregiver – for example feeding. As long as the caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced. The baby then directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver who responds with comforting ‘social suppressor’ behaviour.
It is worth noting that 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 – escaping from something unpleasant is reinforcing. This interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens an attachment.

Question 6

What is drive reduction

Answer 6

As well as conditioning, learning theory draws on the concept of drive reduction. Hunger is a primary drive- its an innate biological motivator. We are motivated to eat in order to reduce the hunger drive. The person who supplies the food – the caregiver is associated with pleasure and the removal of discomfort and becomes a secondary drive and a source of reward in his/her own right. Attachment is thus a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive.

Question 7

What is the cupboard love theory

Answer 7

The learning theory explanation has been called the ‘cupboard love theory’ of attachment because it suggests that attachment is based on the providing of food alone.

Question 8

What is an unconditioned stimulus?

Answer 8

An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that leads to an automatic response. In Pavlov’s experiment, the food was the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 9

What is an unconditional response?

Answer 9

: An unconditioned response is an automatic response to a stimulus. The dogs salivating for food is the unconditioned response in Pavlov’s experiment.

Question 10

What is a neutral stimulus?

Answer 10

A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that at first elicits no response. Pavlov introduced the ringing of the bell as a neutral stimulus.

Question 11

What is a condition stimulus?

Answer 11

A conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that can eventually trigger a conditioned response

Question 12

What is a conditioned response?

Answer 12

A conditioned response is a behavior that does not come naturally, but must be learned by the individual by pairing a neutral stimulus with a potent stimulus.

Question 13

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 13

positive reinforcement refers to introducing a desirable stimulus (i.e., a reward) to encourage the behavior that is desired. An example of this is giving a child a treat when he or she is polite to a stranger.

Question 14

What is negative reinforcement

Answer 14

Negative reinforcement is the encouragement of certain behaviors by removing or avoiding a negative outcome or stimuli. People typically use this technique to help children learn good patterns of behavior, but it can also play a role in training animals and pets.

Question 15

What is primary Drive?

Answer 15

Primary drives refer to things a person needs to survive, like thirst and hunger

Question 16

What is secondary drive?

Answer 16

Secondary drives are determined by social factors, money, pride, and fame are all great examples of secondary, not primary, drives.

Question 17

Weaknesses of the Learning Theory as an explanation of attachments -

Answer 17

Learning Theory is based on animal studies –A criticism of learning theory that it is largely based on studies with non-human animals such as Skinner used Pigeons and rats and Pavlov used dogs. Behaviourists such as Pavlov and Skinner believe that humans are really no different from other animals in terms of how they learn. Our behaviour patterns are constructed from the same basic building blocks of SR and they argue it is therefore legitimate to generalise from animals to humans. However, attachments which can be argued to be a complex behaviour cannot possibly be explained by conditioning – in fact attachment behaviours have been argued to be inborn and necessary for survival!
Attachment is not based on food – There is undoubtedly a wealth of both human and animal research that shows that attachment formation has absolutely nothing to do with feeding the baby e.g. Lorenz’s study showed that the baby goslings imprinted on Lorenz even though he did not feed them. Similarly Harlow’s research also shows that the baby monkeys were most attached to the cloth monkey even though the wire monkey provided them with milk. Furthermore Schaffer and Emerson’s study on human babies showed that many of the babies did not form primary attachments with the person who fed them the most in fact, 40% of babies in their study did not have their first primary attachment with their physical carer suggesting attachments are not based on feeding.
The Learning Theory ignores other factors associated with forming attachment - The learning theory is reductionist as it focuses too much on conditioning in terms of food and pleasure and ignores factors like interactional synchrony and reciprocity which are definitely not based on food and are important prerequisites in forming an attachment. In addition, studies have shown that the best quality attachments are with sensitive carers that pick up infant signals and respond appropriately.

Question 18

Strengths of the learning theory

Answer 18

Some elements of conditioning could still be involved in forming attachments – this means that the learning theory is plausible - although there is little doubt that the learning theory is not a complete explanation of why attachments are formed, it does nonetheless explain one reason why attachments happen i.e. due to food. There is also no doubt that many attachment behaviours e.g. hugging, kissing do provide the baby with comfort and feeling of pleasure. Similarly most babies do form attachments with caregivers who feed them the most. (e.g. breastfeeding mothers)
There may be a newer learning theory explanation of attachments namely the Social Learning Theory - This is a further development of the learning theory by Albert Bandura. Dale Hay and Jo Vespo (1988) suggested that modelling (imitating the behaviour of role models) could be used to explain attachment behaviours. They proposed that children observe their parents’ affectionate behaviour and imitate this. Parents would also deliberately instruct their children about how to behave in relationships and reward appropriate attachment behaviours such as giving kisses and hugs. In other words a baby attaches to the caregiver because they may see significant others also attached. The social learning explanation has the further advantage that it is based around two-way interaction between baby and adult, so it fits better with research into reciprocity.