Attachment

Attachment

1. The learning explanation of attachment

   • Babies cannot feed themselves, they rely on other people to meet their needs for food
   • Attachments are based upon feeding (cupboard love)
   • The baby associates themselves with the the person that feeds them (usually the mother) which gives them the pleasurable feeling and relief from hunger
   • The mother then becomes the positive reinforcer
   • Evaluation
     • Supported by animal research conducted by Skinner and Thorndike who both found that animals can be conditioned to behave in specific ways when given food as a reward. Supports the idea of cupboard love.
     • Supported by Hodges and Tizard who conducted research into institutional care and found that children were able to learn from attachment
     • Takes into account the role of the environment in attachment. It's important as we are raised in a rich, social environment where we are influenced by nurture as well as nature
     • Contradicted by Bowlby's Evolutionary theory of attachment and research done by Harlow which suggests that comfort is more important than food and that attachments cannot form at any stage. This reduces the validity of the learning theory as it does