Learning Theory

• AO1: Classical Conditioning and Attachment

  • Learning theory, popular in 20th Century psychology, suggests all behavior is learned, not inborn.

  • Children's behavior is explained through experiences.

  • Behaviorists propose learning through classical or operant conditioning.
• Classical Conditioning Reminder

  Classical conditioning involves learning by association. Pavlov first described this type of learning throug the research he was conducting with dogs. He noticed that dogs would salivate before they received food and that they had learnt to associate the arrival of food with neutral stimuli such as the opening of a door, and bells.
• Learning theory (classical conditioning)

  Classical Conditioning and Attachment Formation

  • Food (UCS) naturally produces pleasure in infants before conditioning.

  • During conditioning, caregiver (NS) becomes associated with food.

  • Caregiver (CS) produces pleasure associated with food, forming a conditioned response (CR) to caregiver.

  • This association forms the attachment bond.
• AO1: Operant conditioning explanation of attachment

  We learn through rewards and punishments:

  Any behaviour that produces a reward will be repeated (POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT)

  Any behaviour that stops something unpleasant will be repeated (NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT)
• Using operant conditioning to explain attachment

  • Operant conditioning can explain why babies cry for comfort - “ an important behaviour in building attachment.
• Crying and Caregivers' Responses

  • Crying is rewarded with feeding, reinforcing the behavior.

  • Caregivers receive positive reinforcement for resolving crying.

  • Caregivers also receive negative reinforcement for causing crying.

  • Feeding stops unpleasant behavior, reinforcing the behavior.

  • Mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment.
• Evaluation

  Learning Theory of Attachment: Challenges and Oversimplification

  • Learning theory is based on animal research, raising questions about its generalizability to human attachments.

  • Human behavior is influenced by our responses to stimuli, similar to animals.

  • Complex cognitive processes in human behavior may oversimplify attachment behavior, posing a challenge to conditioning.
• Evaluation

  Learning Theory and Attachment

  • limitation - Learning theory suggests food is key to attachment formation.

  • Contradictory evidence suggests contact comfort is more important than food.

  • Harlow's study shows infant monkeys are most attached to wire mothers providing comfort contact, not food.

  • Contradicts learning theory's attachment explanation.
• Evaluation

  Learning Theory and Attachment in Human Infants - limitation 

  • Learning theory's attachment explanation lacks significance of feeding in human attachments.

  • Schaffer and Emerson's research indicates attachment tends to be with caregivers who are interactive and sensitive to infant's signals/facial expressions.

  • Reciprocity may play a key role in attachment development.

  • Research suggests complex reciprocal interactions are important in the quality of attachment, contradicting the theory's view.
• Evaluation of Learning Theory on Attachment

  • Learning theory suggests infants learn through association and reinforcement.

  • Food may not be the primary factor in attachment development.

  • Attention and caregiver responsiveness may be key rewards.

  • Learning theory's value is acknowledged despite its limitations.