Learning theory-EVALUATION Flashcards
one limitation is that there’s evidence that CHALLENGES the l.t as infants form attachments to those who DON’T feed them.
schaffer and Emerson’s study on 60 Glasgow babies showed attachment formed to RESPONSIVE individuals> providing care
THEREFORE, this goes AGAINST the Lt that says attachment is formed off those who feed us.
HOWEVER limited sample, lacks pop validity, maybe Glasgow babies go against LT but not all would so LT can still be a legitimate theory.
another weakness is that evidence from Harlows study has falsified the LT
baby monkeys chose cloth>feeding mother.
THEREFORE, this goes AGAINST the LT that attachment is created through food.
HOWEVER animal extrapolation is a problem as we may not be able to generalise monkeys to humans, so this invalidates the evidence against the LT
one problem with the LT is that it is reductionist
this is because it takes the COMPLEX issue of attachment and REDUCES it down to just learning from the environment.
only looks at NURTURE side of the nature/nurture argument. this is an issue as attachment is MORE complex than that, and involves some elements of INNATE behaviour such as reciprocity+interactional synchrony.
THERFORE, we should look at a more INTERACTIONIST approach, so we do not MISS important factors which may be contributing to attachment (Bowlbys monotropic theory, which considers biology)
