attachment style

(noun)

Based on Bowlby's attachment theory, which describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans; there are four main styles of attachment—secure, anxious-preoccupied, anxious-avoidant, and fearful-avoidant.

Related Terms

Examples of attachment style in the following topics:

  • Research Methods for Evaluating Treatment Efficacy

    • Client characteristics, such as help-seeking attitudes and attachment style, have been found to be related to seeking out counseling, expectations of counseling, and outcomes.
    • Many psychotherapists believe that the nuances of psychotherapy cannot be captured by quantitative, questionnaire-style observation, and prefer to rely on their own qualitative clinical experiences and conceptual arguments to support the type of treatment they practice.

  • Introduction to Personality Disorders

    • The 10 personality disorders mentioned in the DSM-5 involve pervasive and enduring personality styles that differ from cultural expectations and cause distress and/or conflict with others.
    • According to the DSM-5, "personality disorder" refers to when an individual displays a personality style (i.e., patterns of cognition, behavior, and emotion) that:
    • They neither desire, nor need, human attachments, and withdraw from relationships and prefer to be alone.

  • Attachment Theory

    • The development of parent-infant attachment is a complex process that leads to deeper and deeper attachment as the child ages.
    • Bowlby conceived of four stages of attachment that begin during infancy: preattachment, attachment-in-the-making, clear-cut attachment, and formation of reciprocal relationships.
    • When the caretaker picks up the baby or smiles at her, the beginnings of attachment are forming.
    • Children who have secure attachment to parents are more likely to be successful adults.
    • Discuss the contributions of Bowlby, Ainsworth, and Harlow to attachment theory

  • Reactive Attachment Disorder

    • RAD arises from a failure to form normal attachments to primary caregivers in early childhood.
    • Mainstream treatment and prevention programs that target RAD and other problematic early attachment behaviors are based on attachment theory.
    • Children need sensitive and responsive caregivers to develop secure attachments.
    • RAD arises from a failure to form normal attachments to primary caregivers in early childhood.
    • Summarize the diagnostic criteria, etiology, and treatment of reactive attachment disorder

  • Influence of Parenting Style on Child Development

    • Parenting style refers to the way in which parents choose to raise their children.
    • Maccoby and Martin (1983) later expanded upon Baumrind’s three original parenting styles by adding the uninvolved or neglectful style, which has the most pervasive negative consequences across all domains.
    • Of the four parenting styles, the authoritative style is the one that is most encouraged in modern American society.
    • However, effective parenting styles vary as a function of culture, and the authoritative style is not necessarily preferred or appropriate in all cultures.
    • In the authoritarian style, parents put a high value on conformity and obedience.

  • Cultural and Societal Influences on Child Development

    • The society and culture in which one grows up influence everything from developmental milestones and parenting styles to what kinds of hardship one is more likely to face.
    • Effective parenting styles also vary as a function of culture.
    • While the authoritative parenting style (characterized by the parent giving reasonable demands, setting consistent limits, expressing warmth and affection, and listening to the child’s point of view) is the style that is most encouraged in modern American society, this is not necessarily the case in other cultures.
    • Different parenting styles influence children differently depending on cultural norms and standards.

  • Evolutionary Theory of Motivation

    • Consider the following example: in a population's gene pool, a genotype exists for an infant that is unattached from its mother—it will crawl away and does not have any "love" or other significant attachment to its mother.
    • Thus, the "attached" infant has a higher chance of survival.
    • Over many generations, more "attached" infants will survive to mate and pass on their gene for attachment.

  • Social Cognition

    • For example, a number of studies have found that people who grow up in East Asian cultures such as China and Japan tend to develop holistic thinking styles, whereas people brought up in Western cultures like Australia and the USA tend to develop analytic thinking styles.
    • The typically Eastern holistic thinking style is a type of thinking in which people focus on the overall context and the ways in which objects relate to each other.
    • On the other hand, the typically Western analytic thinking style is a type of thinking style in which people focus on individual objects and neglect to consider the surrounding context.

  • Applications of Psychological Theories to the Life of a Student

    • Understanding the various theories of learning as well as your personal learning style can help you better understand information and develop positive study habits.
    • Styles of learning are generally grouped into three primary categories: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
    • Knowing your strongest learning type can help you learn in the most effective way; depending on your learning style, you'll want to tweak your study skills to get the most of your education.

  • Lower-Level Structures

    • The cerebellum is attached to the dorsal side of the pons.
    • It is attached to the rest of the brain by three stalks (called pedunculi), and coordinates skeletal muscles to produce smooth, graceful motions.
    • The spinal cord is attached to the underside of the medulla oblongata, and is organized to serve four distinct tasks: