AO1 Learning Theory

• suggests the importance as the care-giver as a provider of food. the child learns to love whoever feeds them
• classical conditioning

  learning to associate two stimuli together so that we start to respond to one as we respond to the other
• UCS food > UCR pleasure 


  neutral stimulus mother > no response

  UCS food + NS mother > UCR pleasure

  CS mother > CR pleasure
• infants have a primary drive to be fed and an innate sense of pleasure when we are fed. so we are biologically motivated to form an attachment with the care-giver that feeds us as a secondary drive
• babies would have trouble forming attachments because they aren't being picked up to be fed so they aren't making the association with the care-giver and pleasure
• operant conditioning

  positive and negative reinforcement
• operant conditioning explains why babies cry for comfort. they have learnt that when they cry, the mother responds and provides comfort. this has been reinforced and therefore the behaviour is more likely to be repeated