Outline and Evaluate Learning Theory of Attachment. (12mark)
Outline and Evaluate Learning Theory of Attachment. (12mark)
Psychologists have many different theories to explain attachment, one being the Learning Theory. This theory is based on behaviourist’s theory and suggests that all behaviour is learnt rather than innate. They describe children as ‘blank slates’ when they are born and that everything a child becomes can be explained by the experiences they have. The theory suggests that all behaviour is learned through classical conditioning or operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is learning through association. Before attachment is learned, the child gains pleasure through being fed. The food is the which led to pleasure which is the . When the child is being fed, over time they associate the person providing the food with the food. When the attachment has been learned, the child gains pleasure when the feeder is present without the food. This association between the feeder and a sense of pleasure is the attachment bond.