Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.

Attachment

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...

Attachment Styles

Attachment Styles

Jeffrey Simpson's attachment theory suggests that early caregiver relationships shape lasting patterns of behavior and emotional regulation, known as attachment styles. These patterns are organized along two key dimensions: self-esteem and interpersonal trust. The intersection of these dimensions produces four primary attachment styles that typically persist throughout life and significantly influence how individuals form and maintain relationships.Secure Attachment StyleIndividuals with a...

Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

Attachment theory, developed initially to explain infant–caregiver bonds, has been extended to illuminate patterns of intimacy in adult romantic relationships. Psychologists Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver proposed that the attachment styles observed in infancy form a framework for how individuals approach emotional closeness and conflict in adulthood. These attachment styles—secure, avoidant, and anxious—are linked to enduring patterns of behavior and emotional regulation in...

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Understanding gender differences across relationship stages requires integrating evolutionary, ontological, and proximate mechanisms.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026

Same author

The psychological entrapment of partner abuse.

Current opinion in psychology·2026

Same author

Ellen Berscheid (1936-2025).

The American psychologist·2026

Same author

Emotion regulation and felt security in different-gender romantic relationship interactions: Two dyadic, observational studies.

Emotion (Washington, D.C.)·2025

Same author

Compendium of dyadic behavior change techniques v2.0: results from a Delphi study.

Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine·2025

Same author

Early maltreatment, socioemotional competence, and parenting in adulthood: The moderating role of social network size.

Development and psychopathology·2025

Same journal

Metacognitive and Interpersonal Intellectual Humility Are Asymmetrically Associated with Well-Being.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2026

Same journal

Intergroup Contact and Belonging Among Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2026

Same journal

A Taxonomy of Data Synthesis.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2026

Same journal

When and Why Beliefs About the Causes of a Policy Problem Predict Policy Support.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2026

Same journal

Prospects of Downward Mobility Cause Status Anxiety and Life Dissatisfaction.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2026

Same journal

Fluency as a Cue to Authenticity.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 11, 2025

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

Support Processes Predict Declines in Attachment Avoidance Across the Transition to Parenthood.

W Steven Rholes¹, Jami Eller², Jeffry A Simpson²

¹Texas A&M University, College Station, USA.

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin

|August 27, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Adult attachment avoidance can decrease when individuals encounter relationship events that challenge their existing working models, particularly when offering support during the transition to parenthood. This study explored changes in attachment orientations.

Keywords:

attachment theory avoidance support transition to parenthood

More Related Videos

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

Published on: October 13, 2017

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

Published on: January 17, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 11, 2025

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

Published on: October 13, 2017

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

Published on: January 17, 2025

Area of Science:

Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Social Psychology

Background:

Adult attachment orientations can evolve, but the triggers for these changes remain unclear.
Attachment theory suggests incongruent information can alter internal working models.
Understanding these shifts is crucial for comprehending adult relationship dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the factors influencing changes in adult attachment avoidance.
To examine how relationship events impact attachment orientations during major life transitions.
To test Bowlby's theory on the role of incongruent information in attachment change.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal study tracking 137 couples over two years post-childbirth.
Data collected at five distinct time-points from both partners.
Focused analysis on changes in attachment avoidance, not anxiety.

Main Results:

Decreases in attachment avoidance correlated with relationship events providing incongruent information.
Providing greater partner support predicted a decline in avoidance.
These findings support the role of new experiences in modifying attachment working models.

Conclusions:

Attachment avoidance can decrease during major life transitions like parenthood.
Relationship support and challenging experiences are key factors in modifying attachment orientations.
Further research is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms of attachment change.