Attachment as a secondary drive

• Learning theory draws on the concept of drive reduction:

  • Hunger can be a primary drive - its's an innate, biological motivator; we are motivated to eat in order to reduce the hunger drive
  • Robert Sears et al (1957) - suggested that as caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them
  • Attachment is thus a secondary drive learned by association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of reducing a primary drive