Explanations of Attachment

Explanations of Attachment

Learning Theory

Learning theory (behaviourist) focuses on baby wanting its needs fulfilled. Conditioning is given as an explantation for how attachments form.

Classical Conditioning 

Learning association between food and the pleasure baby recieves from releaving hunger. The mother relieves the hunger, therfore an association is made between mother, food and pleasure.

Operant Conditioning 

Dollard and Miller(1950) claim baby feels discomfort when hungry, and so have a desire to relive hunger discomfor. If they cray, mother feeds them, therefore negatively reinforcing the association. The mother maintains the association to food which benefits attachment.

+ has support from othe research

- reductionist: explains complxe attachment…