Attachment - Learning theory

Question 1

What is Dolland and Miller’s cupboard love theory?

Answer 1

• The cupboard love theory states that children become attached to their caregiver because they learn that the caregivers meet physical needs such as food
• This is based on learning theory as behaviour including attachment can be explained by classical and operant conditioning

Question 2

How can behaviour be learnt via classical conditioning?

Answer 2

• Classical conditioning is learning via association
• This is when two stimuli are presented together multiple times causing a psychological linkage (Association)
• For example: Food (Unconditioned) and the mother (Neutral) becomes associated
• Pleasure (Unconditioned response) starts to become associated with the mother (Conditioned stimulus)
• This causes the response of pleasure (Conditioned) whenever the mother appears

Question 3

How can behaviour be learnt via operant conditioning?

Answer 3

• Operant conditioning is learning by trial and error
• Pleasurable consequences such as food from crying behaviour is positively reinforced, this makes crying behaviour more frequent
• The baby then learns that crying causes the positive outcome of getting food, so they are positively reinforced every time they cry, they then learn to cry more frequently when they are in need of food
• The parents learn via negative reinforcement to feed the baby
• Stopping the crying when the food is produced is negative reinforcement for the parents
• This is done as the action of feeding the baby stops the negative outcome of the baby crying, so the parent feeds the baby to avoid the negative outcome (Crying)

Question 4

What is an advantage of using the learning theory as an explanation for attachment?

Answer 4

-Learning theories are supported by significant amounts of well controlled research

Question 5

What is an advantage of using the learning theory as an explanation for attachment?

Answer 5

-Learning theory has good face validity as it “makes sense” that babies would cry more if they learnt it gained them attention/food

Question 6

What is a disadvantage of using the learning theory as an explanation for attachment?

Answer 6

-The learning theory is environmentally reductionist as it aims to explain complex infant-caregiver interactions and emotions as the result of simplistic processes like stimulus-response links and patterns of reinforcement

Question 7

How does Harlow’s study with monkeys oppose cupboard love theory?

Answer 7

• Harlow’s infant monkeys did not attach on to the surrogate wire monkey that provided milk, but instead they attached to a cloth mother that did not provide milk, but provided contact comfort
• This rejects cupboard love as the monkeys seemed to attach for comfort rather than for physical needs like food

Question 8

What is a disadvantage of using the learning theory as an explanation for attachment?

Answer 8

-The learning theory contrasts Bowlby’s monotropic theory that babies have an innate attachment drive to survive