Dollard & Miller, Bowlby - A01

• Dollard & Miller learning theory is behaviourist explanation which proposes all behaviour is learnt rather than innate. When children born, are blank slates and shaped by experiences. Referred as cupboard love theory as it emphasises infants attach to caregiver who provides food.
• Classical Conditioning - infants learn to associate caregiver with pleasure from feeding therefore infant becomes attached to caregiver.

  • food served as unconditional stimulus (UCS)
  • being fed leads to feelings of satisfaction acts as unconditional response (UCR)
  • caregiver starts as neutral stimulus (NS) as child has not learnt to react to them
  • when caregiver provides food over time, become paired with food so when baby sees caregiver they expect food
  • as caregiver (NS) paired with food (UCS) they become conditioned stimulus (CS)
• Operant Conditioning - involves learning to repeat behaviour or not depending on consequences. If behaviour produces pleasant consequence, behaviour likely to be repeated again as it is reinforced (positive reinforcement). If behaviour produces unpleasant consequence, less likely to be repeated (punishment). If certain behaviour removes unwanted stimulus, behaviour becomes strengthened and reinforced (negative reinforcement).
• OC -

  • Hunger, innate feeling acts as primary drive and produces feelings of discomfort that motivates behaviour.
  • Infants want to reduce feeling of discomfort thus they cry
  • Food primary reinforcer as it reduces drive and produces innate feelings of pleasure
  • Infant recognises person who provides food as secondary reinforcer. As it repeats, child becomes attached to mother
  • She is source of reward and agent of drive reduction
  • Sears et al - caregiver provides food to relieve hunger, attachment therefore secondary drive learned by association between caregiver and satisfaction of hunger
• Bowlby monotropic theory of attachment focuses on evolutionary advantages / explanations of forming attachments. Believed that we all have intrinsic tendency to form attachment; came up with 5 elements of attachment (ASCMI).
• Adoptive - Bowlby suggests that attachment is a vital adaptive quality that had evolved to increase the chance of survival (providing food, water, shelter) through proximity - seeking behaviour. Innate as you are born with tendency to form attachments.
• Critical Period - Bowlby suggests attachment takes place during critical period roughly 0-24 months. Suggested that if child does not form attachment before critical period, difficult to form attachments later on. Later proposed sensitive period upto 5 years.
• Social Releasers - attachment determined by parental / carer sensitivity to social releasers (e.g. crying, smiling) which all elicit caregiver type of responses from caregiver. Tendency of demonstrating social releasers innate as it helps child capture attention of carer. Need to be innate to ensure that infants maintain close contact with their parents; equally parents need to be receptive to innate cues infant displays.
• Monotropy - child will form one special bond known as primary attachment (tendency of forming one attachment that holds importance known as monotropy). Infants require qualitatively unique relationship to develop an internal working model and emotional maturity ( aka monotropic period). Helps bond to maintain proximity and develop skills and understanding of attachment / bonding.
• Internal Working Model - a cognitive framework or mental representation of future attachments, first attachment child makes forms a template for future (forms concept of what to expect). Led to continuity hypothesis suggests that individuals strongly attached in infancy continue to be socially / emotionally competent. Allows prediction / control of environment.