The place of attachment in human mating.

Application of the principles of evolution and natural selection to the phenomena of human mating does not lead inevitably to a single theoretical model. According to the standard evolutionary model, formally known as sexual strategies theory (D. M. Buss & D. P. Schmitt, 1993), biologically based sex differences in parental investment have resulted in hard-wired sex differences in mate preferences and mating strategies. A critical analysis of the logical and empirical foundations of the theory reveals several weaknesses and limitations. This article demonstrates how attachment theory (J. Bowlby, 1969/1982, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1988) can be used to integrate a diverse set of ideas and research findings and provide a more grounded account of human mating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confidence in protection: Comment on Goldberg et al. (1999).

S. Goldberg, J. E. Grusec, and J. M. Jenkins (see record 1999-15264-001) presented a provocative and compelling argument for a narrow definition of infant–mother attachment that is true to J. Bowlby's (1969) original theory. In particular, S. Goldberg et al. emphasized protection as the central feature of attachment and considered the importance of such a narrow definition for empirical precision in studies of the interactional antecedents of attachment. This comment considers a number of questions raised by S. Goldberg et al.'s article, including practical, theoretical, and developmental issues stemming from an attachment-as-protection perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment theory as an organizing framework: A view from different levels of analysis.

In recognition of the broad influence of attachment theory, the articles in this issue cut across diverse areas of psychology and multiple levels of analysis. T. R. Insel (2000) focuses on the molecular level, discussing the complex link between neurobiology and attachment behavior in nonhuman animals. The three articles by J. Cassidy (2000), R. C. Fraley and P. R. Shaver (2000), and P. R. Pietromonaco and L. Feldman Barrett (2000) present midlevel analyses, incorporating ideas about the links between mental representations and relationship thoughts, feelings, and behavior. C. Hazan and L. A Diamond (2000) take a macro approach by applying a broad evolutionary perspective to understand the basis for attachment in adult pair bonds. The discussion focuses on unifying themes, including the interplay between attachment, caregiving, and sexual behavior; attachment functions in adult relationships; evolutionary processes; the operation of internal working models; and continuity in attachment across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment.

Self-report measures of adult attachment are typically scored in ways (e.g., averaging or summing items) that can lead to erroneous inferences about important theoretical issues, such as the degree of continuity in attachment security and the differential stability of insecure attachment patterns. To determine whether existing attachment scales suffer from scaling problems, the authors conducted an item response theory (IRT) analysis of 4 commonly used self-report inventories: Experiences in Close Relationships scales (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998), Adult Attachment Scales (N. L. Collins & S. J. Read, 1990), Relationship Styles Questionnaire (D. W. Griffin & K. Bartholomew, 1994) and J. Simpson's (1990) attachment scales. Data from 1,085 individuals were analyzed using F. Samejima's (1969) graded response model. The authors' findings indicate that commonly used attachment scales can be improved in a number of important ways. Accordingly, the authors show how IRT techniques can be used to develop new attachment scales with desirable psychometric properties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership and attachment theory.

Comments on the six articles contained in the special issue of the American Psychologist (January 2007) devoted to leadership, written by W. Bennis (see record 2006-23492-002); S. J. Zaccaro (see record 2006-23492-003); V. H. Vroom and A. G. Yago (see record 2006-23492-004); B. J. Avolio (see record 2006-23492-005); R. J. Sternberg (see record 2006-23492-006); and R. J. Hackman and R. Wageman (see record 2006-23492-007). The current authors opine that the inclusion of attachment theory in the study of leadership could strengthen leadership theories as a whole. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Summing up and looking to the future.

In response to commentaries on the model of discipline effectiveness proposed by J. E. Grusec and J. J. Goodnow (see record 1994-25033-001), it is noted that the model places as much emphasis on affect as on cognition and that it is certainly applicable to the preschool years. The development of a sense of self, ability to self-regulate, and attachment are discussed as important precursors of internalization. Further developmental considerations are offered in response to the commentaries, along with reiteration of the argument that range of acceptability of a child's behavior must be included in an account of parental discipline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Attachment in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Attachment in psychotherapy by David J. Wallin (see record 2007-05421-000). This intellectual and clinical tour-de-force is what we have been waiting for: a book that is on the one hand a coherent, creative, thoughtful, and remarkably integrated view of contemporary psychoanalysis, with attachment, and attachment processes, at its core, and on the other a reflection on our daily, complex, work with patients. The book has three broad aims: first, to ground the reader in attachment theory and research, second, to broaden the reach of attachment theory by building bridges to other aspects of contemporary psychoanalytic theory and science, and third to apply this broader, deeply psychoanalytic, clinical attachment theory to understanding the dynamics of an individual patient and the dynamics of clinical work. This book should be essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary psychoanalysis. Few writers have the ability to write so directly and clearly about complex science and theory; his scholarship and reach are extraordinary. This book is also a book for therapists at all levels of experience. Throughout every section of the book, Wallin writes about his work with patients, about the therapeutic process, about the therapeutic situation, and about the therapeutic relationship, in all its complexity. In the end, he creates a truly contemporary vision of human development, affect regulation, and relational processes, grounded in the body and in the brain, and in the fundamental relationships that make us who we are, as therapists, as patients, and as human beings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confidence in protection: Arguments for a narrow definition of attachment.

The origins of current attachment constructs are reviewed. Whereas J. Bowlby's (1969/1982) original theory focused on a biobehavioral safety-regulating system with the parent as the child's primary protector, current usage often encompasses much more, if not all, of the parent-child relationship. As a result, some of J. Bowlby's central ideas have not been adequately tested, and the unique contributions of the theory have been obscured. The authors argue that differentiating protection from general responsivity or good parenting has many advantages. Most important, it will enable researchers to test J. Bowlby's notion that parental protection has a singular role to play in socioemotional development and has implications for attachment assessment and interventions in clinical work with families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment disorganization and the controlling strategies: An illustration of the contributions of attachment theory to developmental psychopathology and to psychotherapy integration.

Attachment theory may be instrumental in providing a framework for psychotherapy integration, but to cope with the complexities of clinical realities it should be considered within an overall evolutionary approach to the basis of human interpersonal behavior and also in the perspective of developmental psychopathology. To illustrate these premises with materials that can be of immediate interest to practicing psychotherapists, this article focuses on the example of the clinical applications of research findings on attachment disorganization and its developmental sequels. The controlling strategies that usually follow in the preschool years infant disorganized attachment illustrate the relevance of considering the dialectics and the dynamic tensions between attachment motives and other evolved motives such as caregiving and dominance–submission. The role played by the disorganized-controlling strategies in psychopathological developments and in the relational dilemmas that often characterize the psychotherapy of difficult patients is discussed and exemplified through two clinical vignettes. It is argued that the model based on attachment disorganization and controlling strategies relies on concepts that are understandable and potentially acceptable to psychotherapists of different orientations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential K theory and racial hierarchies.

Discusses J. P. Rushton's (see record 1986-17266-001) differential K theory (derived from the r/K model of evolutionary selection), which purportedly explains racial differences in sexual practices and anatomy, fertility, IQ, and criminality. The r/K model is frequently misinterpreted and overgeneralized. The predictions that Rushton derives from the r/K model are arbitrary, and these predictions are supported by selective citation and misrepresentation of the research literature and by the use of unreliable sources. Changes in human life-history traits are so rapid that there is no need to posit genetic selection to explain intergroup variation. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Despotism, democracy, and the evolutionary dynamics of leadership and followership.

Responds to comments made by George B. Graen (see record 2008-19206-015) and Stephen J. Guastello (see record 2008-19206-016) on the current author's article Leadership, followership, and evolution: Some lessons from the past by Van Vugt, Hogan, and Kaiser (see record 2008-03389-004). In the original article my co-authors and I proposed a new way of thinking about leadership, informed by evolutionary (neo-Darwinian) theory. In the first commentary, Graen (see record 2008-19206-015) noted that we ignored a number of recently developed psychological theories of leadership that take into account the leader-follower relationship, most notably LMX theory. LMX theory asserts that leadership effectiveness and team performance are affected by the quality of working relationships between superior and subordinates. Because the original article primarily dealt with questions about the origins of leadership--the phylogenetic and evolutionary causes--we had to be concise in our review of proximate psychological theories of leadership. In the second commentary, Guastello (see record 2008-19206-016) concurred with the importance of an evolutionary game analysis for studying leadership but disagreed with certain details of our analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extenders or modifiers: A discussion of Weiss and Sampson's control-mastery theory.

Asserts that J. Weiss (see record 1990-17877-001) and H. Sampson (see record 1990-17862-001) are engaged in shaping a theory regarding motivation of unconscious wishes that is linked to Freud's later ego and super-ego theory. This linkage obscures their unique contributions. Six themes from Weiss and Sampson's work are considered innovative departures from Freud: (1) the ego as a motivator of behavior or Weiss and Sampson's object relations perspective, (2) the link between ego motives and attachment research, (3) the nature of the object relational tie, (4) psychic reality and actuality, (5) some clinical implications, and (6) a philosophical assumption about people that underlies their work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disorders of adult attachment.

This article presents an overview of J. Bowlby's framework of attachment (e.g., 1990) for conceptualizing adult psychopathology and its application to clinical practice. The theory proposes that psychological disorders reflect an internalization of adverse attachment experiences, both current and past, and in particular those that undermine self-reliance and feelings of security. Clinical syndromes indicate intensification of anxiety, depression, and/or anger to a degree which interferes with adaptive functioning and interactions with others. The secure base of therapy provides a new model of what close relationships can be like, as well as a setting for exploring and possibly modifying the meaning given to separation and loss experiences. Issues of prevention and social policy are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment theory as applied to wartime and job-related marital separation.

Reviews research on wartime, long routine, and short routine marital separation, with focus on spouses' distress, coping, and reunion reactions. Spouses' reactions are interpreted from the perspective of J. Bowlby's (1969) attachment theory (1) to illustrate similarities in spouses' reactions across different types of separation experiences, which argue for an integration of research in this field within a single conceptual framework; (2) to illustrate underlying similarities in separation reactions of adults and children, which further legitimize current extrapolations of attachment theory to adults; and (3) to conceptualize the differential reactions of home-based and traveling spouses, thereby extending attachment theory as it applies to adult romantic relationships. It is argued that a more comprehensive approach to the study of love and intimacy in adulthood requires attention to both the attachment and the caregiving systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Post hoc explanation is not prediction. Commentary on J. Archer.

Comments on J. Archer's 1996 article in which he considers whether observed patterns of sex differences in human social behavior are best explained by social role theory or by the evolutionary principles of Darwinian theory. The author believes that Archer framed many of his evolutionary claims as explanations despite the fact that they were generated post hoc. The author argues that a critical weakness of post hoc explanation is that various aspects of a theory may be used selectively to maximize the appearance of predictive validity and an example is used to illustrate the point. It is concluded that while evolutionary psychology is a promising and intriguing field its theories are not adequately tested by post hoc couched in predictive language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Horsefeathers: A commentary on "Evolutionary versus prototype analyses of the concept of disorder."

J. C. Wakefield's (see record 1999-03409-002) article further develops his harmful dysfunction (HD) model for disorder concepts. This commentary focuses on three areas. The first notes the imbalance in the debate between the S. O. Lilienfeld and L. Marino (see record 1995-43832-001) Roschian model and the HD model for disorder concepts. The second claims that Wakefield's purposes for the HD model have changed over the years and progressed toward irrelevance to psychopathology in general and toward irrelevance to actual nosologic, reimbursement, and sociopolitical controversies about disorder status. Further discussion is on how certain structural elements in Wakefield's arguments and current limitations of evolutionary theory permit a superficially attractive model for psychopathology. These arguments and limitations, however, harbor serious problems when confronted with actual disputes about disorders. The conclusion notes some virtues to Wakefield's inquiry, in style and substance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward assessing attachment on an emotional security continuum: Comment on Fraley and Spieker (2003).

The article by R. C. Fraley and S. J. Spieker (2003) serves to remind the discipline of the possible virtues of assessing attachments on continua, a practice that has a long history in attachment research. In this commentary, the author further develops the potential contributions of this approach to assessment and advocates renewed efforts toward assessment of attachments on a single continuum of emotional security. The author contends that theory is essential as a guide for new directions in attachment assessment and that Bowlby's notions of secure base and emotional security provide the needed conceptual foundation for these further developments (E. Waters & E. M. Cummings, 2000). Moreover, challenges that have been made historically to the scoring of attachment on a security continuum are addressed. New means for continuously scoring attachment are advocated as a supplement to the primary direction of categorically assessing attachment patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding attachment security in family context.

Attachment theory (J.. Bowlby, 1969) is not just about how internalized models of relationships affect interpersonal outcomes; it is primarily a theory about how interpersonal processes affect social and cognitive development. This study tested 3 hypotheses about the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security: (a) attachment security is relationship specific, (b) characteristics of partners affect attachment security, and (c) security of attachment is reciprocated. Measures of attachment security were obtained from 2 parents and 2 children (adolescent or older) in 208 middle-class families. Results of social relations model analysis (D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984) supported all 3 hypotheses. The author concludes that internal working models of relationships may not be so "internal" after all and that greater emphasis on the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client attachment style and the psychotherapist's interpersonal stance.

Attachment style is proposed as an important client variable that psychotherapists may need to assess in order to tailor their interpersonal stance in psychotherapy. The authors draw on J. Bowlby's (1969, 1973, 1978) attachment theory and describe the therapeutic implications of 3 adult attachment styles: Anxious/Ambivalent, Avoidant, and Secure. Results are summarized from a psychotherapy research program, including the finding that attachment style was related to symptomatology and to therapists' perceptions of the therapeutic alliance. Case illustrations of clients displaying the 3 types of attachment style are presented to illustrate how therapists can productively alter their interpersonal stance to enhance treatment outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evolution and "evolutionary behavorism": Comment.

Comments on W. R. Woodward's (see record 1982-30310-001) article on the discovery of social behaviorism and social learning theory from 1870 through 1980. The article suggests that within several concepts that are related to social behaviorism and social learning theory, the same "discovery" has been made to account for an important part of behavioral variance. This involves a functional feedback model with internal variables and some kind of selection via symbolic processes that are termed "evolutionary." The present author raises concern for Woodward's use of the biological evolutionary theory in this context. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)