Learning theory of Attachment

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Explanations of attachment: Learning theory
- Classical conditioning
  - Learning through association
  - Milk (UCS) produces a response of pleasure (UCR)
  - After conditioning
    - Mother becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS), who is the source of pleasure even without milk
  - During conditioning
    - Mother (NS) who provides the milk becomes associated with the milk (NS+UCS)= pleasure response (UCR)
- Operant conditioning
  - Behaviours that produce a reward - positive reinforcement or behaviours that will stop something unpleasant - negative reinforcement will be repeated
  - Dollard and Miller
    - process of operant conditioning that supports that food is why we form attachments
  - hungry -negative drive state and cry (social releasers)
  - Being fed removes the hunger and so encourages the infant to repeat the behaviour - negative reinforcement
  - Baby being fed by the mother/ caregiver - acts as a reward for their crying - positive reinforcement
  - Food = primary reinforcer Mother = Secondary reinforcer
    - Mother is the source of the food, an attachment is formed
- The learning theory proposed by Dollard and Miller who argues that children are born as blank slates- 'Tabula Rasa
  - All behaviour including attachment is learned through classical and operant conditioning rather being innate
During conditioning
- Mother (NS) who provides the milk becomes associated with the milk (NS+UCS)= pleasure response (UCR)

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