learning theory

A01-Classical conditioning

• Form an attachment

• Within attachment, the suggestion is that attachment behaviours are learnt as the infant associates the attachment figure with food.

• This means that after conditioning, the caregiver has become a conditioned stimulus, which produces a conditioned response of pleasure. In this case the pleasure response is love.

• The caregiver is an attachment figure.

A01-Operant conditioning

• Operant conditioning can explain why babies cry for food

• Crying leads to a response from the caregiver, for example,feeding.

• This reinforcement is a two-way process. At the same time as the baby is reinforced for crying, the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops.

A01-Drive reduction theory

• The infant becomes hungry, and experiences a ‘drive’ to reduce hunger.The infant cries as a result.

• This causes the caregiver to feed the infant, in order to stop crying.

• The infant’s drive is reduced and they experience feelings of pleasure, meaning that the crying is positively reinforced - food is known as a primary reinforcer.

• However, as the caregiver was present at the time of feeding, they are associated with the food. They are known as a secondary reinforcer.

A03- Conditioning may be Involved(safety conditioning)

• Bosmans et al. (2020) suggest that classical conditioning occurs when the attachment figure becomes associated with feelings of safety and low anxiety.

• Operant conditioning occurs when attachment behaviour (e.g. proximity-seeking) is rewarded with anxiety reduction.

A03-Drive Reduction is Outdated

• Another criticism of learning theory is that drive theory is outdated.

• Although drive theory was popular in the 1940s, there are many examples of human behaviour that increase discomfort, rather than reduce it. For example, some people engage in extreme activities, such as bungee jumping, which actually increase discomfort.

A03-reductionist

• The focus on basic processes too simplistic explain complex attachment and be