ATTACH - 5 - Learning Theory

What does learning theory suggest about the origins of attachment?

• Attachment is learned through association and reinforcement.
• Attachment is innate and does not require learning.
• Attachment forms based solely on biological factors.
• Attachment is purely the result of parental modeling.

In classical conditioning, what is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in the context of attachment?

• Food
• Mother
• Crying
• Comfort

According to classical conditioning, how does the neutral stimulus (NS) become a conditioned stimulus (CS)?

• By being repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food)
• By the infant directly responding to discomfort
• By the mother providing care
• By the infant's innate behavior

In operant conditioning, what type of reinforcement is involved when a caregiver feeds a crying baby?

• Negative reinforcement (removal of unpleasant stimulus)
• Positive reinforcement (adding something pleasant)
• Punishment (adding an unpleasant stimulus)
• Neutral reinforcement (no change)

How did Harlow’s study of rhesus monkeys challenge learning theory?

• The monkeys preferred comfort from a cloth mother even without food.
• The monkeys attached only to the mother that provided food.
• The monkeys did not form attachments at all.
• The monkeys preferred the wire mother that provided food.

What did Schaffer and Emerson (1964) find regarding attachment that contradicts learning theory?

• Infants attached to caregivers who were responsive, not just those who provided food.
• Infants only attached to those who provided food.
• Infants did not form attachments based on responsiveness.
• Infants could not form attachments until they were weaned.

What is one limitation of learning theory as an explanation of attachment?

• It oversimplifies attachment by focusing solely on food and ignoring caregiver responsiveness.
• It accurately explains all types of attachment behavior.
• It overemphasizes the role of genetic factors in attachment.
• It focuses too much on comfort rather than food.

How does social learning theory provide a more comprehensive explanation of attachment?

• It includes modeling and imitation of parental behavior, not just food association.
• It explains attachment based only on food provision.
• It suggests that attachment is only present in adulthood.
• It dismisses the role of responsiveness in attachment formation.

Which of the following is a strength of the learning theory of attachment?

• It can explain basic behaviors like feeding that contribute to attachment.
• It fully explains all aspects of attachment behavior.
• It ignores all biological influences on attachment.
• It highlights the role of innate behaviors over learned behaviors.

Why is learning theory considered too reductionist as an explanation of attachment?

• It reduces attachment to food association without considering other factors like comfort and responsiveness.
• It fully explains attachment behavior across all situations.
• It focuses too much on the role of fathers in attachment.
• It overcomplicates attachment by involving too many variables.