Learning theory

• Learning theory - an explanation of attachment explaining how infants learn to become attached to their primary caregiver through classical conditioning or operant conditioning.
• Learning theory - it is thought that infants will form an attachment to whoever feeds them.
• Classical conditioning - a process of learning by associating two stimuli together to condition ( learn ) a response
• Classical conditioning 1 : before conditioning, food is an unconditioned stimulus producing an unconditioned response - relief from hunger
• Classical conditioning 2 : before conditioning, the caregiver is a neutral stimulus, who produces no conditioned response from the child
• Classical conditioning 3 : during conditioning, the caregiver presents themselves with the food, so that they become associated with it
• Classical conditioning 4 : after conditioning, the caregiver becomes a conditioned stimulus which elicits a conditioned response - relief from hunger
• Skinner showed that behaviour in animals could be learnt through consequences - reward or punishment.
• Dollard and Miller applied the principles of reward and reinforcement to explain human attachment.
• Operant conditioning. when an infant feels hunger, it has a drive to produce unpleasant feelings. when the caregiver provides food, a feeling of pleasure is produced. This repeats, causing the infant to develop an attachment.
• AO3. The learning theory is undermined by research by Harlow. He found that rhesus monkeys spent more time with a comforting cloth “mother” rather than a wire “mother” providing food. This shows that monkeys do not form attachments based on food and prefer comfort. Schaffer and Emmerson also support this as they found that infants formed attachments to their mothers despite being fed by other carers too.
• AO3. Learning theory is refuted by Lorenz. He found that baby geese followed the first moving object they saw after hatching. This is imprinting, an innate behaviour that must have not been learnt as they did not have time. This shows that non-human animals show attachment behaviours without learning.
• AO3. There are methodological issues with research into learning theory. Pavlov did his research on dogs and Skinner did his on rats. This has been criticised because the theories over rely on animals. It can be argued that the bond between a human infant and caregiver is much more emotionally complex. This means it may lack validity.
• AO3. There are alternative explanations to attachment. Bowlby believed that that infants have an innate readiness to attach to their caregiver in order to protect them whole they are young and vulnerable. The evolutionary explanation not only explains how an attachment forms, but also why - to enhance survival. It is accepted that Bowlby 's theory provides a more comprehensive explanation of attachment