Learning Attachment and Mentalization in Antisocial Behavior

Learning theory and relational approaches offer different explanations for the acquisition and maintenance of harmful behavior. Their integration requires specifying observable mechanisms rather than combining labels. This conceptual article develops Chapter 3 of the source manuscript through a focused narrative review of observational learning, moral disengagement, and mentalization. The research question concerns how reinforcement and interpretation of interpersonal events can be studied within the same behavioral sequence. An original formulation framework separates antecedents, expectations, affect, available responses, immediate consequences, and delayed consequences. It also requires rival explanations and evidence capable of weakening the preferred account. A prospective study is proposed to examine whether changes in interpretations and contingencies precede changes in behavior. Attachment and mentalization are treated as explanatory perspectives, not criminal classifications. No original participant data or treatment outcomes are reported. The analysis supports testing specific relational and learning processes while avoiding unfalsifiable interpretations of resistance, denial, or disagreement.