AO3 - Learning theory

• Animal studies like Harlows monkey study contradict the learning theory of attachment.
• Evolutionary studies, which suggest attachment is innate, contradict the learning theory.
• The learning theory may be less valid as there are other explanations that tell us why they form and not just how . For example Bowlby's Monotropic theory.
• Schaffer and emerson's study contradicts learning theory as they found that 39% of the samples main attachment figures was someone other than the person who fed them.
• Schaffer and emerson's (1964) shows that not all infants strive to form attachments based on food like learning theory suggests.
• Harlow found that the monkeys preferred comfort more than food - spending up to 15 hours a day with the comfort mother and just 1 hour with the wire mother.