Building agents to understand infant attachment behaviour

This paper reports on an autonomous agent simulation of infant attachment behaviour. The behaviours simulated have been observed in home environments and in a controlled laboratory procedure called the Strange Situation Experiment. The Avoidant, Secure and Ambivalent styles of behaviour seen in these studies are outlined, and then abstracted to their core elements to act as a specification of requirements for the simulation. A reactive agent architecture demonstrates that these patterns of behaviour can be learnt from reinforcement signals without recourse to deliberative mechanisms.