Describe & Evaluate the Learning approach to Attatchment

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Describe & Evaluate the Learning approach to Abnormality

Describe

The

learning theory of attachment focuses of two concepts; operant and

classical conditioning. Classical conditioning as an explanation for

attachment describes the baby receiving food (and unconditioned

stimulus) and producing an unconditioned response (happiness) and the

mother feeding the baby will be the neutral stimulus. The baby will then

experience the mother giving them food (and therefore happiness) a

number of times and then learn to associate the mother (now a

conditioned stimulus) with the feeling of happiness (a conditioned

response) and thus an attachment will form. Operant conditioning

describes attachment as a reinforced response. When a baby gets food

it's discomfort will become happiness and the baby will associate this

feeling with food and therefore food will become the primary reinforcer.

The person feeding the baby will also be associated with the happiness

and therefore become the secondary reinforcer and an attachment will

form.

Evaluate

Even though the learning theory of attachment provides an adequate

explanation of attachment it is flawed. Research evidence, such as that

of Harlow's monkey study, opposes the idea of learning theory as an

explanation of attachment. Harlow's monkey study involved giving a baby

monkey the choice of either food or comfort (food was portrayed by a

wire 'monkey' with a feeding bottle attached to it and comfort was

portrayed by a wire 'monkey' covered in cloth). According to the

learning theory of attachment the monkey should have spent most of his

time on the food 'monkey, however the opposite was true - the monkey

spent the majority of his time on the comfort 'monkey'. This decreases

the validity of the learning theory of attachment as an explanation for

attachment because the findings of Harlow's monkey study opposed what it

suggested. However, the monkey study was conducted on monkeys and it

could be argued that this is not an accurate representation of human

attachment. Humans are a lot more complex than animals and so therefore

research on animals to study behaviour cannot be applied to human

behaviour.