Attachment Theory: John Dollard and Neal Miller
Carla Cabrera, M.S., Lisa Lashley, Psy.D., and Charles Golden, Ph.D.
Nova Southeastern University, College of Psychology
John Dollard and Neal Miller collaborated to develop the learning theory of attachment
that connects theories from Sigmund Freud and Clark Hull to reconcile psychoanalysis and
behaviorism. Their combined interests helped with the efforts to develop a unified theory
incorporating psychodynamic theory, learning theory, and influence of sociocultural factors.
Dollard and Miller suggested that attachment becomes a learned behavior acquired
through classical and operant conditioning. Dollard and Miller’s learning theory of attachment
stated hat the cause for attachment between the child and the mother was because the mother fed
the infant and not due to a profound and enduring emotional connection, as described by Bowlby
and Robertson. Dollard and Miller suggested that infants are born without rules for processing
information, and that information is added and rules for processing are formed by sensory
experiences. Therefore, for attachment to occur, behaviors are learned rather than innate.
The learning theory of attachment consists of four processes: drive, cue, response and
reinforcement. Drives are innate, biologically determined urges to attain goals or satisfy needs.
They produce discomfort that impels humans to act when encountering a cue. A cue is anything
that serves as a signal, triggering a behavioral response to reduce the drive. The more a child
becomes successful at reducing the drive, the more likely the response to the cue is expected to
occur.
