Learning Theory

• Dollard and Miller (1950) - highlights the importance of the caregiver providing food for the child - 'cupboard love'

  Simply, the child learns to love the person that feeds them, based on classical and operant conditioning principles
• The baby bottle (food) is the unconditioned stimulus which leads to an unconditioned response of the baby being happy. When the baby is presented with neutral stimulus (mother), they are not bothered which is a neutral response. During conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus and the neutral stimulus (food and mum) is presented to the baby to give an unconditioned response of being happy. After conditioning, the conditioned stimulus of seeing the mum makes the baby happy which is the conditioned response
• Operant conditioning - learning to repeat/not repeat a behaviour based on consequence

  positive consequence - more likely to be repeated

  negative consequence - less likely to be repeated
• Operant conditioning explains why babies cry for comfort - an important feature for building attachment.

  Crying leads to a response from the caregiver usually feeding, as long as the caregiver gives the correct response, the behaviour e.g. crying is reinforced.
• For the child, crying and feeding is positive reinforcement but for the caregiver it is an example of negative reinforcement. The baby is fed to stop them crying
• Drive reduction - hunger is a primary drive to infants, it is an innate biological motivator, we are motivated to reduce our hunger from birth

  Sears 1957 suggests that as the caregivers provide the food, the primary drive of hunger gets generalised to the caregiver. Attachment is therefore a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and satisfaction of primary drive.
• Strength 1 - whilst a lot of learning theory has been discredited with other evidence, it still had good explanatory power.

  • Association (classical conditioning) between the primary caregiver and provision of comfort and interaction can form the basis of attachment, it makes logical sense.
  • Therefore, it has practical applications for parenting classes
• Strength 2 - a new explanation has been made

  • social learning theory of attachment
  • Hay and Vespo (1988) - babies do get attachments from parents but more by role modelling behaviours e.g. displaying love and affection
  • Learning theory provided the basis for a more logical explanation and therefore has some, albeit limited, applications to attachment
• Limitation 1 - a lot of animal research shows that young animals don't form attachments (imprint) on those who feed them

  • In Harlow, monkeys preferred the cloth mothers rather than the wire mothers that fed them.
  • This is an issue for the learning theory because it contradicts the idea that attachments are based on feeding.
• Limitation 2 - doesn't consider all other factors associated with forming attachments

  • does not include reciprocity and interactional synchrony and how these two features are important in the quality of attachments that are formed.
  • It is difficult to accept that attachments are solely based on feeding alone, there must be other factors that help shape attachments between babies and their caregivers.