explanations of attachment: learning theory

• Dolland and Miller’s learning theory of attachment:classical conditioning- UCS (food) leads to UCR (a feeling of pleasure). This response is not learned so it is UCR. A caregiver starts as NS but when they provide food, over time, they become associated with ‘food’ so they become a CS. Once conditioning has taken place the sight of caregiver produces a CR of pleasure. Now an attachment has formed and the caregiver becomes an attachment figure
• Dolland and Miller’s learning theory of attachment: operant conditioning- crying leads to a response from caregiver. As long as the caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced because it produces a pleasurable consequence. When the baby is crying, the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops. This interplay of positive/negative reinforcement strengthens an attachment
• One limitation of learning theory is there is counter evidence from animal studies. Lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw. Harlow’s monkeys attached to a soft surrogate in preference to a wire one with milk. In both these animal studies, imprinting/attachment didn't develop as a result of feeding. This shows that factors other than feeding are important in attachment formation.
• One limitation is counter evidence from human studies. Schaffer and Emerson showed that for many babies their main attachment was not to the person who fed them. Also, Isabella et al. found that interactional synchrony predicted attachment quality. This suggests that other factors are more important in attachment formation than feeding
• One strength is that some elements of conditioning could still be involved. It seems unlikely that association with food is central to attachment. However, conditioning may still play some role in attachment. For example, a baby’s choice of primary attachment figure may be determined by the fact that a caregiver becomes associated with warmth and comfort. This means that conditions could still be important in choice of attachment figures, through not the process of attachment formation