learning approach (conditioning)

• behavioural - nurture
• assumption - children learn to become attached to their caregiver because they give them food
• classical conditioning 


  learning can be done due to associations being made between different stimuli
• operant conditioning 


  behaviour can be altered by patterns of reinforcement (reward) and punishment
• classical conditioning (association)

  • food is an unconditioned stimulus that produces an unconditioned response
  • caregiver is a neutral stimulus who produces no response
  • but, because pcg is continually feeding the unconditioned stimulus (food), they slowly become associated with it until eventually the pct alone can produce pleasure
  • pcg (generally mother) has now become a conditioned stimulus and the pleasure she brings is a conditioned response.
  • the baby has learnt to associate pcg with pleasure and becomes attached
• classical conditioning (association)


  NS (pcg- mother) → no response

  UCS (food) → UCR (pleasure)

  UCS + NS → UCR

  CS (pcg- mother) → CR (pleasure)
• operant conditioning (reinforcement)


  Dollard and Miller (1950) suggested that a hungry infant feels uncomfortable and creates a drive to reduce the discomfort
• food = primary reinforcer 


  directly satisfies hunger
• caregiver = secondary reinforcer

  he/ she is associated with the primary reinforcer (food)
• food = primary reinforcer

  caregiver = secondary reinforcer

  attachment occurs because the child seeks the person who can supply the reward
• negative reinforcement 


  changes behaviour to reduce something unpleasant
• 1. infant experiences hunger. the discomfort drives it to make a noise (behaviour) to attract attention
  2. PRIMARY REINFORCER comfort provided by food (reward)
  3. SECONDARY REINFORCER mother (pcg) is the source of food (reward). infant is motivated to be with mother, so attachment forms
• motivation for baby to learn behaviour

  reduce feeling of hunger/ cold (negative reinforcement)
• motivation for mother to learn behaviour


  to reduce the sound, and stop baby crying (negative reinforcement)
• summary

  • dollard and miller - attachment combines two types of conditioning
  • infants are reinforced (operant conditioning) in the behaviours that will produce desirable responses from others (e.g feed when they cry)
  • they learn to associate (classical conditioning) the caregiver with the feeling of pleasure when they are fed
• operant conditioning


  the attachment forms when the baby associates primary reinforcer with the secondary reinforcer