Behaviourist approach to Att.

• Classical conditioning


  Learning through association. The pleasure of feeding becomes associated with the person who feeds the infant and this person becomes a source of pleasure even when there is no feeding.
• Classical conditioning


  1. Food (Unconditioned Stimulus) = Pleasure (Unconditioned Response)

  2. Mother (Neutral Stimulus) + Food (UCS) = Pleasure (UCR)

  3. Mother (Conditioned stimulus) = Pleasure (Conditioned response)
• Operant conditioning


  Learning from the consequences of behaviour. If a behaviour produces a pleasant consequence, that behaviour is likely to be repeated again.
• Crying leads to a response from the caregiver (they provide food)


  As long as the caregiver provides the correct response (food), crying is reinforced because it produces a pleasurable consequence. The baby then directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver who responds with comforting behaviour. This is how an attachment is formed.
• Caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops when the baby is fed


  (Negative reinforcement is escaping something unpleasant, which is reinforcing)
• Drive reduction


  Hunger can be thought of as a primary drive – it's an innate, biological motivator. We are motivated to eat to reduce our hunger drive. When an infant is fed their hunger drive is reduced producing a sense of pleasure (a reward). Food is therefore a primary reinforcer as it directly reduces discomfort.
• Sears et al (1957) suggested that as caregivers give the food, the primary drive of hunger is generalised to them. Attachment is therefore a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive (hunger).