The original attachment theory described by Mary Ainsworth around 1980 categorized attachment styles into secure, anxious-ambivalent (or anxious-resistant), and anxious-avoidant. Both strategies, avoidance and ambivalence/resistance), used by the child to deal with attachment insecurity were described as anxious. About a decade later, Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver applied Ainsworth's infant attachment model to adult romantic relationships, where they note: "On the basis of their observations, Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, and Wall (1978) delineated three styles or types of attachment, often called secure, anxious/ambivalent, and avoidant." Today, much and maybe even most attachment theory writing and training in fact now shortcuts this further to simply secure, anxious, and avoidant. Why do you think that in the span of ten years and moving from infants to adults the language around the two types of insecure attachment that were first understood to both be anxious might have changed to describe the anxious-ambivalent style as simply anxious and the anxious-avoidant style as simply avoidant?
[image description: There are two hearts with worried facial expressions. One seems to be chasing the other and the one being chased may not know where to go. Bubble text reads: "avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles are BOTH anxious."]
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RETROSPECTIVE
~ 11/19 ~
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2022
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2020
2019
2018
~ celebrating five years of daily cartoons ~
RETROSPECTIVE
~ 11/19 ~
on this day
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
~ celebrating five years of daily cartoons ~
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