Learning approach: conditioning

• The main assumption behind the learning theory explanation of attachment is that children learn to become attached to their caregiver because they give them food. This is referred to as "cupboard love"
• Learning can be due to associations made between different stimuli (classical conditioning) or behaviour can be altered by patterns of reinforcement (reward) and punishment (operant conditioning)
• Classical conditioning is learning by association
• How does classical conditioning work?

  1. food is an unconditioned stimulus that produces an unconditioned response (pleasure)
  2. At the outset, the caregiver is a neutral stimulus who produces no response
  3. Mother is continually paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food) so she slowly becomes associated with it until eventually alone the mother can produce pleasure
  4. Mother has now become conditioned stimulus and the pleasure she brings is a conditioned response
• Operant conditioning is learning by reinforcement
• Dollard and Miller suggested that a hungry infant feels uncomfortable and this creates a drive to reduce the discomfort (Operant conditioning)
• How does Operant conditioning work?

  1. any behaviour resulting in rewards (pleasant consequences) is positively reinforced and likely to be repeated
  2. Any behaviour resulting in punishments (unpleasant consequences) is "stamped out" and unlikely to be repeated
• How does an infant form an attachment in operant conditioning?

  1. hungry infant feels uncomfortable and is driven to reduce discomfort, when fed it feels pleasure (reward)
  2. Food is a primary reinforcer (repeated reward) as it directly satisfies hunger
  3. Caregiver is secondary reinforcer as they are associated with primary reinforcer
  4. Attachment occurs as child seeks person who can supply food
• How would a baby show that it is hungry?

  It will cry as its in discomfort and the mother will feed it so it will be happy again
• In classical conditioning how many stages are there?

  3
• (classical conditioning)

  Before conditioning:

  Unconditioned stimulus (food) -> unconditioned response (happy baby)
• (classical conditioning)

  During conditioning:

  Neutral stimulus (mother) + unconditioned stimulus (food) -> unconditioned response (happy baby)
• In the second stage of classical conditioning, the during conditioning stage, the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are associated together.
• (classical conditioning)

  After conditioning:

  Conditioned stimulus (mother) -> conditioned response (happy baby)
• What are the stages of classical conditioning?

  1. before conditioning
  2. during conditioning
  3. after conditioning
• Attachment, according to Dollard and Miller, combines the two types of conditioning.

  Infants are reinforced in the behaviours that will produce desirable responses from others (fed when they cry) - operant conditioning.

  They learn to associate the caregiver with the feeling of pleasure when they are fed - classical conditioning.

  This is called "cupboard love"
• A limitation of the learning theory of attachment is the Schaffer and Emerson study. This is because they found that babies became more attached to the primary caregiver when they received appropriate responses to the infants cries.
• A limitation of the learning theory of attachment is Lorenz's gosling study. This is because he found that the goslings attached themselves to anything that moved to survive due to imprinting. It suggests survival and imprinting forms attachment not food.
• A limitation of the learning theory of attachment is Harlow's monkey study. He found that monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother than with the wire mother that provided food. This shows that the monkeys preferred comfort over food.
• The learning explanation might not be the full explanation of attachment as it has very little support but it is true that humans learn by conditioning so it might be that this approach focused on food as the reinforcement whereas the reinforcement is in fact the attention and responsiveness of the caregiver.