A03

• What are the strengths of learning theory?

  1. Some evidence supports conditioning
• What are the limitations of learning theory?

  1. Contradictory animal research
  2. Contradictory evidence from humans
  3. Environmental reductionism
• Strength = some evidence supports conditioning

  • Infants do learn through association and reinforcement, but food may not be the main reinforcer
  • It may be that attention and responsiveness from a caregiver are important rewards that assist in the formation of attachment
  • E.g. Schaffer and Emerson found that infants were more attached to the caregiver who showed higher levels of sensitive responsiveness and they will have learnt to do this through association
• Limitation = contradictory animal research

  • Learning theory suggests that food is the main element in the development of attachment
  • However, there is strong evidence in young animals to show that feeding has nothing to do with attachment
  • Lorenz’s geese imprinted before they were fed and maintained these attachments regardless of who fed them
  • Harlow’s monkeys attached to a soft surrogate which provided contact comfort in preference to a wire one that dispensed milk
• Limitation = contradictory evidence from humans

  • There is a lack of support from studies of human babies
  • E.g. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - babies tended to form main attachment to mother regardless of whether she was the one who usually fed them
  • Isabella et al. (1989) found that high levels of interactional synchrony predicted quality of attachment not feeding
• Limitation = environmental reductionism

  • Breaks complex behaviour down into simple stimulus and response chains, and focuses on the role of food
  • Attachment is complex and a range of factors influence attachment, such as interactional synchrony, reciprocity etc.
  • Therefore, this approach to explaining attachment is too simplistic