On the codevelopment of attachment behavior and verbal behavior.

Abstract

A model of social behavioral development is presented that integrates attachment behavior development with verbal behavior development. The attachment patterns constitute a response class that reflects schedules of reinforcement for security-seeking behavior. Continuous, variable, and extinction schedules give rise to, respectively, secure, insecure–anxious, and insecure–avoidant attachment behavior patterns. These patterns emerge in early childhood and impact social tendencies and preferences (e.g., incentive salience for caretakers, social trust). A prerequisite for their emergence is responsiveness to the behavior of others for purposes of fear relief (negative reinforcement). Similarly, verbal behavior development is concerned with utilizing others for self-enrichment and relief from deprivation. The nexus of verbal behavior development and attachment behavior development, then, is self-enrichment within a network (community) of ones choosing. The network of ones choosing reflects contingencies for security-seeking behavior (attachment) and enrichment within that community reflects the evolution of verbal behavior capabilities. Both of these developmental phenomena entail the emergence of other persons as learned, social reinforcers.