Learning theory

Attachment

Definition: •An emotional bond between 2 people •2 way process that endures over time

•Serves the function of protecting the child

Emotional Protecting Endures bond 2 people child

Use all of the key words below to create a definition of attachment

Objectives

Define the term attachment

Identify key words associated with the Learning Theory of attachment

Provide basic evaluation for the Learning Theory

Apply exam board assessment objectives to stimulus material

Write an exam style answer for the Learning Theory of attachment

Explanations of Attachment

You need to know 2 explanations of attachment

Learning Theory

Attachment is learned

Bowlby’s Theory

Attachment is innate

The Learning Theory – Miller & Dollard

Everyone is born as a blank slate

Behaviour is learned and therefore nurture rather than

nature

Infant becomes attached because they

‘learn’ that the caregiver will meet their

physiological needs (food) Classical

conditioning Association

A01

Classical Conditioning Learning through

association

Babies love food – FACT

The learning theory

suggests they will love their feeder as well…

Ivan Pavlov was the first Psychologist to describe learning through classical conditioning.

All behaviour is learnt through association

Babies learn to associate the person who feeds them with the pleasure of being fed

A01

Pavlov’s Dogs (You need to be aware of the theory,

not exactly how Pavlov trained his dogs!)

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

produces Unconditioned response (UCR)

BEFORE CONDITIONING...

DURING CONDITIONING...

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Neutral stimulus (NS)

Unconditioned response (UCR)

AFTER CONDITIONING...

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

produces Conditioned response (CR)

A01

Attachment through classical conditioning

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

e.g. Food

produces Unconditioned response (UCR)

e.g. Pleasure

BEFORE CONDITIONING...

DURING CONDITIONING...

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

e.g. Food

Neutral stimulus (NS)

e.g. Caregiver

Unconditioned response (UCR)

e.g. Pleasure

AFTER CONDITIONING...

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

e.g. Caregiver

produces Conditioned response (CR)

e.g. Pleasure

A01

Learning Theory – Evaluation (top and tail)

e.g. Lorenz found that newly hatched goose (after seeing

Lorenz shortly after hatching) following him everywhere and he became their ‘imprinted

parent’

e.g. Harlow found that rhesus monkeys who were separated

from their mothers after birth and were placed in a cage with

‘wire’ mothers went to the ‘mother’ who offered comfort

rather then food

e.g. Shaffer & Emerson found

that the first attachments formed by 39% of babies were not to the person

who fed and changed them – they attached to those

who played with them

e.g. Watson & Raynor conditioned Little Albert to have a phobia of fluffy animals and toys through

classical conditioning

Learning Theory – Evaluation Positive

Adequate Explanation

Strength because it shows that other behaviours (e.g. phobias) are learned through association and so it’s entirely plausible that children learn to attach also.

e.g. Watson & Raynor

A02

Learning Theory – Evaluation Negative

Shaffer & Emerson (1964)

Found that the first

attachments formed by 39% of babies were not to the

person who fed and changed them – they

attached to those who played with them

Goes against the LT idea that children will

attached only because of

food

A02

Learning Theory – Evaluation Negative

Harlow (1959) Found that rhesus monkeys who were

separated from their mothers after birth and

were placed in a cage with ‘wire’ mothers went

to the ‘mother’ who offered comfort rather

then food

Suggests that food is not always the main drive

of attachment

A02

There is a HUGE problem with

Harlow’s research – What is it?

Learning Theory – Evaluation Negative

Lorenz (1952)

Lorenz found that newly hatched goose (after seeing Lorenz shortly

after hatching) following him everywhere and he became their ‘imprinted

parent’

Indicates that attachment might be immediate and

innate as the geese will have been too

young to have learned any responses

A02

Exam style questions

Have a go at answering the following question – Why? So you know how to answer in the

exam!

1. Outline the behavioural explanation of attachment formation.

(4 marks)

Exam style questions Have a go at marking the following question –

Why? So you can view the answer from the examiners perspective!

2. Outline two weaknesses of the learning theory explanation of attachment.

(2 + 2 marks)

One weakness of the learning theory of attachment is that it doesn’t explain why babies attached to people who do not feed them. For example, Shaffer and Emerson found that 39% of babies attached with those who played with them and not who fed them. This is a weakness because it demonstrates that food is not the only reason that babies will form an attachment, going against the learning theory.

A second point is that the theory makes sense. For example, we learn lots of behaviours through association so it makes sense that children might learn to attach. This is a strength as it adds validity to the learning theory explanation of attachment

2

0

Key words In pairs write at least 15 key words that link to the Learning

Theory of Attachment

Glossary • Attachment – A 2 way emotional bond between 2 people that endures

• Learning Theory – Attachment is learned (Miller & Dollard)

• Classical conditioning – Learning through association • UCS – Unconditioned stimulus • NS – Neutral stimulus • UCR – Unconditioned response • CR – Conditioned response • CS – Conditioned stimulus • Harlow – Monkeys given ‘wire mothers’ • Lorenz – Geese (imprinting theory) • Shaffer & Emerson – 39% don’t attach to person who feeds

Objectives

Define the term attachment

Identify key words associated with the Learning Theory of attachment

Provide basic evaluation for the Learning Theory

Apply exam board assessment objectives to stimulus material

Write an exam style answer for the Learning Theory of attachment

e.g. Little Albert was conditioned to have a

phobia of fluffy animals and toys through classical

conditioning

e.g. Harlow found that rhesus monkey who were separated from their mothers after birth and were placed in a

cage with ‘wire’ mothers went to the ‘mother’ who offered comfort rather then food

e.g. Shaffer & Emerson found

that the first attachments formed by 39% of babies

were not to the person who fed and changed them –

they attached to those who played with them

e.g. Lorenz found that newly hatched goose (after seeing

Lorenz shortly after hatching) following him

everywhere and he became their ‘imprinted parent’

Exam style questions Have a go at marking the following question –

Why? So you can view the answer from the examiners perspective!

2. Outline two weaknesses of the learning theory explanation of attachment.

(2 + 2 marks)

One weakness of the learning theory of attachment is that it doesn’t explain why babies attached to people who do not feed them. For example, Shaffer and Emerson found that 39% of babies attached with those who played with them and not who fed them. This is a weakness because it demonstrates that food is not the only reason that babies will form an attachment, going against the learning theory.

A second point is that the theory makes sense. For example, we learn lots of behaviours through association so it makes sense that children might learn to attach. This is a strength as it adds validity to the learning theory explanation of attachment