An infant, Noah, has begun to show a strong attachment to his mother, Clara, particularly during feeding times. According to the learning theory (drive-reduction model) of attachment, which of the following explains how Noah's attachment to Clara is established?
Clara acts as a primary reinforcer because she directly satisfies Noah's innate biological drive for contact comfort and emotional warmth.
Feeding reduces Noah's primary drive of hunger; because Clara provides the food, she becomes associated with drive reduction and acts as a secondary reinforcer.
Noah's crying is an innate social releaser that elicits a maternal response from Clara, classical-conditioning her to associate Noah with drive reduction.
Noah forms a cognitive schema known as an internal working model, which treats Clara as a primary reinforcer to ensure his survival during the critical period.
Practise AQA A Level Psychology Explanations of attachment with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 57 questions, matched to the AQA A Level Psychology (7182) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
