CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
In present generation, we can observe that adolescents being young and flexible have specific ways of handling the kinds of relationship they are into. Generally, they are known to be incredibly active in exploring, engaging and developing relationships either in a friendship level or romantic level. Moreover, building relationships is essential in one’s life, it has the ability to influence positively in terms of psychological and physical well-being (Moore & Leung, 2002). However, individuals also experience relationship setbacks and stumble upon undesirable situations. In other words, these established relationships may also lead to dilemmas when negative situations arises, such as break-ups, loss of a loved one,
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The attachment theory approach to adult love relationship was proposed and fully developed by Hazan and Shaver (1887, 1988). Based on their theory, attachment style is explained mostly in terms of persistence of inner working models of one’s self and of relationships based on early social interactions (Hazan & Shaver, 1987). Although originally, attachment theory was intended to explain the emotional bond of the infants and their caregivers, Bowlby (1979) which was the first to introduced this theory also believed that it is an essential aspect of human experience since it plays an influential role in adults’ emotional lives as well (Frayley & Shaver, …show more content…
There are widely varying culture and ethnic groups that possess distinct cultural principles and attachment styles which is believed to have a deep influence in romantic preferences (Hatfield & Rapson, 1995). Eastern and Western culture clearly varies in two basic principles, specifically, individualism and collectivism (Hofstede, 1980; Phinney, Ong, & Madden, 2000; Triandis, Bontempo, &Villareal, 1988).
In individualism, from its root word “individual”, highlights the rights and the significance of one’s goals. While, collectivism emphasizes the rights and welfare of the group that a person belongs to (Lalonde, Hynie, Pannu & Tatla, 2004). To name a few, individualistic nationalities include European-Americans, the intermediate in individualism and collectivism are Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Chinese-Americans were considered to be collectivist (Doherty et. al.,
The attachment style that an individual exhibits as an infant can affect their adult romantic relationships. An attachment pattern is established in early childhood attachments and continues to function as a working model for relationships in adulthood. This model of attachment influences how each of us reacts to our needs and how we go about getting them met. The ability to recognize one 's attachment can help someone to understand their strengths and vulnerabilities in a relationship.
The term ‘attachment’ is used by psychologists who study the child’s early relationships. An attachment is a unique emotional bond normal between a child and an adult. A theorist called John Bowlby (1970-90) had a relation to the attachment theory. In 1950s John identified that when children and
Psychologist Phillip Shaver expanded upon Bowlby’s theory too and stated that the attachments formed in one’s infancy extend to adult romantic relationships (Feldman, 2011). According to Shaver, securely attached adults enter into romantic relationships confidently and happily. They also tend to be supportive and sensitive to their partner’s needs. Those who have avoidant attachment style tend to be less into relationships and feel lonelier. Ambivalent or anxiously attached adults tend to be too invested in their relationships, have low self-esteem, and often are intrusive rather then helpful when
John Bowlby, the backbone of attachment theories will be discussed throughout this essay to explain and evaluate the key theories of attachment. Health and well-being which is made up of four factors ‘physical, intellectual, emotional and social ' (Jones, 2016), will also be discussed within the essay. The definition of attachment is ‘an act of attaching or the state of being attached. ' (Dictionary, 1400) This will be showed in the assignment, using theorists to analyse the meaning. Sharing the strengths and weaknesses in some theorists will help conclude this assignment.
What is attachment theory and why is it an important aspect of intimate relationships and love? The attachment theory of love maintains that the degree and quality of attachments one experiences in early life influence one’s later relationships (Strong & Cohen, 2014). John Bowlby proposed that, based on infants interactions with caregivers, infants construct expectations about relationships in the form of internal working models- cognitive representations of themselves and other people that guide their processing of social information and behavior in relationships (Sigelman & Rider, 2015). This research was further elaborated on by Mary Ainsworth and colleagues, who believed there were three styles of infant attachment: secure, anxious or ambivalent, and avoidant.
This qualitative research was conducted to ascertain if the attachment style a person has as an adult is created or influenced by his/her interactions with early childhood experiences. The research was carried out by means of a thematic analysis of an interview of a married middle-aged couple. The interviews bought the themes of Work, Childhood and Relationships to the foreground and these were analysed to establish if there is a connection in our childhood attachments and those we make as adults. It can be seen that there are similarities to the attachment types of infants compared to those that
Attachment theory was originally proposed by Bowlby (1969) as an explanation of interpersonal relationships, with particular focus in his work on the parent-child relationships which are formed in early childhood. He noted that this was an evolutionary need within us as humans to form close attachments to improve our rate of survival (Bowlby, 1969). He later also theorized that these attachment styles would persist throughout life into adulthood (Bowlby, 1988). Further work on attachment theory by Bartholomew & Horowitz (1991) expanded on attachment styles and looked at the continuation of attachment style into adulthood. Using interviews with participants and the participants close friends they found evidence for four types of adult attachment styles: Secure, Preoccupied, Dismissing and Fearful (Bartholomew & Horowitz 1991). Further support for adult attachments styles is from Mikulincer & Shaver (2004) showing that attachments styles persist from childhood into adulthood demonstrating bowlby 's later hypothesis
Hazan and Shaver (1987) proposed the theory that ”Romantic love is an attachment process.” (Hazan & Shaver, 1987), which the individual will experience differently depending on the attachment history that has been formed by the internal working models based on the social interaction with caretaker as an infant. According to Bowlby, these internal working models are essential for attachment patterns throughout life from childhood till adult love relationships (Fraley, 2010).
Attachment theory is the concept of the development, of a psychological and emotional bond, that creates a secure or insecure attachment to a caregiver. Attachment bonds are very important, in regards to personal development. Formulated by John Bowlby in the sixties, he discovered that a child’s development depends significantly, on the strong attachment they form with a caregiver. Functions of Bowlby’s attachment
“Attachment is the ability to form emotional bonds with other people”, it is unambiguous that Precious did not have that kind of emotional bond with her family (E.D. Hutchison, 2012. 441) John Bowlby who is considered the father of attachment theory. Attachment theory is a concerted work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. This theory focus on early childhood experiences and how well cared and in our world, may influence on how the child behaves from childhood to adult. The assumption of this theoretically perspective, focus on the relationship between the caregiver and the child and how it can affect the child’s behaviors and
Attachment Style and Romantic Relationships Research Paper Attachment theory has been of interest to many fields of study, from psychology to ethology, even biology and evolution. The developmental implications of the theory can be applied to different personalities, why we actively seek partners or long term relationships, or simply to explain why an infant may cry when its mother leaves the room. Although the initial implications were intended to explain the response of children when separated from their caregivers, research has proven its application to adult relationships, showing patterns of behavior based on attachment theory terminology. This paper explores the different aspects in which attachment theory is applied in adult relationships, such as finding a partner, predictability, and evolutionary purpose of caring for offspring.
This essay atempts to look at some of the attachment theories and researches that have been
Since the main idea surrounding attachment theory is explaining how someone perceives their relationship, it can easily be translated into how adults feel about romantic relationships (Collins & Read, 1990). Each individual brings their own attachment style to a relationship which can influence the relationship (Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992). This means, an insecure individual in a relationship could cause their partner to show the avoidant tendencies that they
Researchers have been looking at theories to show how important relationships are in people’s lives and attachment theory has allowed them to understand human behavior in a variety of ways. Feelings, such as anger and romantic love, can be directly correlated to the attachments received as a child.
First, Individualism vs. Collectivism. Individualism is the social function of the relative likelihood of a free and individual means only take care of themselves and their families. By contrast, collectivism is the tendency of social functions relatively tight where each individual to identify themselves as a group with loyalty not need to be asked. The main problem of this dimension is the degree of interdependence of individuals in a