Strengths
- The theory provides an adequate explanation of attachment as we do learn through association and reinforcement.
Limitations
- Lack of supporting evidence, there is strong evidence that shows food does not play a role in forming attachments;
Evidence 1: Schaffer and Emerson
Schaffer and Emerson carried out research into the age at which infants become attached and who they become attached to, The learning theory suggests that infants form a primary attachment with the person who gives the greatest pleasure/drive reduction, generally the mother. However, Schaffer and Emerson found that only 39% of the 60 babies studied had a primary attachment to the person who fed and changed them, the majority of babies actually formed an attachment with the person who responded accurately to their signals, which does not support the ideas put forward by the learning theory.
Evidence 2: Harlow and Harlow
The learning theory suggests that attachments are learned because of food, which is acquired through conditioning. Research carried out by Harlow and Harlow into how new born baby monkeys bond with their mothers does not support this idea. Infant monkeys were placed in a cage with two wire mesh cylinders each with a face acting as a 'mother', one provided milk and the other, comfort. If reinforcement were true, we would expect the monkey's to spend most of their time with the 'mother' that provided milk from a teat, this was not the case as the monkeys spent most of their time with the 'mother' that provided comfort and only jumped to the feeding mother when hungry. This shows that feeding was not the main source of reinforcement and, therefore, not the sole basis for attachment.
-However, when considering this research it is important to note that there are problems when using animal research as findings may be difficult to generalise to human behaviour, the experiments were also not always ethical in their treatment of the animals.
-The learning theory can be seen as being reductionist as it reduces the complexities of human behaviour to overly simple ideas such as; stimulus, response and reinforcement. The theory then uses these concepts as a basis for explaining complex human behaviour like attachment.
-This theory can also be criticised by Bowlby's evolutionary theory, who argues that attachments are developed through a process of evolution and is a result of nature rather than nurture.
- The theory provides an adequate explanation of attachment as we do learn through association and reinforcement.
Limitations
- Lack of supporting evidence, there is strong evidence that shows food does not play a role in forming attachments;
Evidence 1: Schaffer and Emerson
Schaffer and Emerson carried out research into the age at which infants become attached and who they become attached to, The learning theory suggests that infants form a primary attachment with the person who gives the greatest pleasure/drive reduction, generally the mother. However, Schaffer and Emerson found that only 39% of the 60 babies studied had a primary attachment to the person who fed and changed them, the majority of babies actually formed an attachment with the person who responded accurately to their signals, which does not support the ideas put forward by the learning theory.
Evidence 2: Harlow and Harlow
The learning theory suggests that attachments are learned because of food, which is acquired through conditioning. Research carried out by Harlow and Harlow into how new born baby monkeys bond with their mothers does not support this idea. Infant monkeys were placed in a cage with two wire mesh cylinders each with a face acting as a 'mother', one provided milk and the other, comfort. If reinforcement were true, we would expect the monkey's to spend most of their time with the 'mother' that provided milk from a teat, this was not the case as the monkeys spent most of their time with the 'mother' that provided comfort and only jumped to the feeding mother when hungry. This shows that feeding was not the main source of reinforcement and, therefore, not the sole basis for attachment.
-However, when considering this research it is important to note that there are problems when using animal research as findings may be difficult to generalise to human behaviour, the experiments were also not always ethical in their treatment of the animals.
-The learning theory can be seen as being reductionist as it reduces the complexities of human behaviour to overly simple ideas such as; stimulus, response and reinforcement. The theory then uses these concepts as a basis for explaining complex human behaviour like attachment.
-This theory can also be criticised by Bowlby's evolutionary theory, who argues that attachments are developed through a process of evolution and is a result of nature rather than nurture.