Attachment learning theory is a behaviorist explanation that suggests that attachment develops through classical conditioning or operative. This is sometimes referred to as the closet love theory because the infant becomes attached to the caregiver who provides food. Classical conditioning is learned by association and occurs when a response is produced naturally by a certain stimulus. This is then paired with another stimulus that is not normally linked to that particular response. Whereas operant conditioning relies on the ideas of reward and punishment. This involves learning through the reinforcement of certain behaviors. This increases the chances that the behavior will happen again. However, there are other factors related to attachment that are not addressed, as there is evidence that infants can form a bond with a person who is not their primary caregiver. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Learning theory offers many different ideas about how attachments might form. A study supporting learning theory is that of Ivan Pavlov (1902). He observed and recorded information about the dogs and their salivation rates. Pavlov said the dogs demonstrated classical conditioning by using an unconditioned food stimulus to elicit an unconditioned salivation response. He used the conditioning process where there is a neutral stimulus being a bell, which in itself will not produce a response, such as drooling. There is also an unconditioned stimulus which is food, which will make dogs salivate, which is an unconditioned response. This supports the idea that learning theory is an explanation of attachment, but this may not hold for humans. Although classical conditioning has now been explored with young infants. For example, the infant will be happy when given a food that is an unconditioned response from an unconditioned stimulus. When the unconditioned stimulus is given with a natural stimulus being the mother, it also gives the unconditioned response of the happy baby. Now, when the mother is alone, which is the conditioned stimulus, the baby is happy, which is the conditioned response. On the other hand, some studies oppose learning theory and the ideas it proposes. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that in 39 percent of cases, the mother was not the baby's primary caregiver. This suggests that diet is not the primary explanation for attachment, which runs counter to learning theory. This evidence can also be supported by Harlow's study on the rhesus monkey (1959). He used baby monkeys to see if attachments are formed primarily through food, as learning theory explains. A wire surrogate and a sponge surrogate were created and placed in four different conditions. Baby monkeys most often chose the soft towel mother whenever she was available. He even discovered that some monkeys clung to the comfort of the towel mother while bending down to feed on the wire mother. This goes against learning theory, because it suggests that attachment is more about the comfort of touch than about food. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our editors now.