learning theory explanation

• Classical conditioning

  Classical conditioning involves the learning of association of two stimuli so that we respond to the two things the same way. Food UCS = pleasure from being fed UCR. Caregiver NS. Food UCS+ Caregiver NS= Pleasure from being fed UCR. Caregiver CS= pleasure from being fed CR.
• Attachment as a secondary drive

  Learning theory draws on the concept of drive reduction. Hunger is thought of as a primary drive as it is innate and a biological motivator, as we are motivated to eat to reduce hunger drive. Sears 1957 suggested that caregivers provide food the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them. Attachment is therefore a secondary drive learned by association between caregiver and the satisfaction of primary drive.
• Limitation is the lack of support from studies conducted on animals. An example is Lorenz’s geese on the first moving object they saw regardless whether this object was associated with food. Also if we consider Harlows’ research on rhesus monkeys there is no support for the importance of food. When given a choice Harlow's monkeys showed signs of attachment for a soft surrogate mother rather than a wire mother which provided milk. This shows that the factors other than association with food are important in the formation of attachment.
• Limitation is the lack of support from human babies. Schaffer and Emerson 1964 found that babies usually tend to form an attachment with the mother regardless of whether she was the one who fed them. In another study Isabella 1989 found that high levels of international synchrony predict the quality of attachment. These factors are not related to feeding. This again suggests that food is not the main factor in forming an attachment.
• Strength is that some elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment. It seems unlikely the association between food plays a central role in attachment, but conditioning still may play a role. For example a baby may associate being warm and comfortable with a particular adult, and this may influence the choice of their main attachment figure. This means that the learning theory may still be useful in understanding the development of attachments.
• However, both classical and operant conditioning explanations see the baby playing a relatively passive role in attachment development simply responding to associations with comfort or reward. In research it shows that babies play an active role in interactions that form attachment Feldman and Eidelman 2007. This means that conditioning may not be an adequate explanation of any as-pect of attachment. 
• Operant conditioning

  It explains why babies cry for comfort and is important in building attachment. When babies cry they receive a response from the caregiver and as long as they provide the correct response it is reinforced.  The baby then directs the comfort towards the caregiver who responds with the comforting behaviour. Reinforcement two way process as at the same time the baby is crying, caregiver receives negative reinforcement as the crying stops escaping, something unpleasant is reinforcing. Interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens the attachment.