Attachment - Emotions Which Shape Development and Well-Functioning in Humans.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Attachment is an evolutionarily established process for forming bonds to receive care.
• The attachment system functions as a key device for emotion and stress regulation.
• Attachment theory's core hypotheses include intergenerational transmission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce cultural attachment as a new category, explaining its role in providing psychological security.
• To explore the function of emotions and feelings as "somatic markers" guiding behavior.
• To examine the adaptive function of somaticity in attachment across multidisciplinary evidence.

Main Methods:

• Review of neuroscientific evidence.
• Analysis of developmental psychology findings.
• Integration of evolutionary and clinical perspectives.

Main Results:

• Cultural attachment processes provide psychological security during threat.
• Emotions and feelings act as somatic markers, influencing decision-making and behavior.
• Somaticity, a characteristic of attachment, modulates human inclination and is essential for functioning.

Conclusions:

• Attachment is indispensable for human functioning, integrating emotional regulation and stress management.
• Cultural symbols can offer psychological security, extending attachment beyond interpersonal bonds.
• The concept of somatic markers underscores the adaptive significance of emotions in guiding behavior and decision-making.