The problem with elaborations of attachment theory is attachment theory itself. How would a mind that works the way the theory posits have increased its owner's fitness in hunter-gatherer times? The child's mind is more capacious and discerning than attachment theorists give it credit for. Early-appearing, long-lasting personality characteristics, often mistaken for the lingering effects of early experiences, are more likely due to genetic influences on personality.

Attachment and Character presents new essays by philosophers and psychologists exploring the illumination that attachment theory can offer for philosophers working in moral psychology or in 'virtue ethics' - in the triangle of relationships between the concepts of human nature, human excellence, and the best life for human beings.

As studies continue to accumulate on leader humility, it has become clear that humility in a leader is largely beneficial to his or her followers. While the majority of the empirical research on this topic has demonstrated the positive effects of leader humility, this study challenges that consensus by arguing that a leader’s humble behavior can have contradictory outcomes in followers’ voice behavior. Drawing on attachment theory, we develop a model which takes into account the ways in which (...) leader humility influences the seemingly contradictory voice behavior of followers, i.e., inducing challenging voice, and defensive voice depending on the followers’ sense of security as reflected by feeling trusted and self-efficacy for voice. The results of this empirical study confirm that leader humility influences followers’ voice in a contradictory way through their sense of security. (shrink)

This study proposes a research model based on attachment theory, which examines the role of corporate citizenship in the formation of organizational trust and work engagement. In the model, work engagement is directly influenced by four dimensions of perceived corporate citizenship, including economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary citizenship, while work engagement is also indirectly affected by perceived corporate citizenship through the mediation of organizational trust. Empirical testing using a survey of personnel from 12 large firms confirms most of (...) our hypothesized effects. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are discussed. (shrink)

Multiarm bandit problems have been used to model the selection of competing scientific theories by boundedly rational agents. In this paper, I define a variable-arm bandit problem, which allows the set of scientific theories to vary over time. I show that Roth-Erev reinforcement learning, which solves multiarm bandit problems in the limit, cannot solve this problem in a reasonable time. However, social learning via preferential attachment combined with individual reinforcement learning which discounts the past, does.

Au Québec, la formation des professionnels qui travaillent en protection de l’enfance s’appuie fortement sur la théorie et la clinique de l’attachement. Le but général de cette formation est d’éviter que les enfants concernés évoluent à l’âge adulte vers une situation d’exclusion sociale, d’errance, d’internement psychiatrique, ou de violence. Les outils utilisés pour l’évaluation initiale et l’intervention qui peut s’en suivre, reposent sur la même théorie. Une comparaison est effectuée avec le dispositif français.

Cet article présente un bref historique de la théorie de l’attachement, une définition des concepts, et les développements ultérieurs, tant sur le plan de la recherche que sur le plan plus actuel de la pratique, des liens avec la psychopathologie et des répercussions sur le cadre thérapeutique. Il s’agit de mettre en évidence les bases théoriques et de comprendre leur place dans le champ clinique.

Durkheim consacra sa vie à essayer de répondre à l’interrogation qu’il formulait dès 1893, dans sa thèse sur la Division du travail, de la façon suivante : « Comment se fait-il que tout en devenant plus autonome l’individu dépende davantage de la société? » Autrement dit, comment des individus autonomes peuvent-ils faire société, comment parviennent-il à s’attacher à la société? Les formes d’attachement des individus entre eux et à la société sont en réalité multiples et continuent de l’être dans les (...) sociétés modernes. Pour Durkheim, ces liens renvoient à des formes de morale distinctes. Comment alors penser leur articulation? Doit-on inévitablement les hiérarchiser pour assurer une cohérence normative et rendre ainsi possible l’intégration sociale de tous les individus? Cet article insiste sur la réforme des groupements professionnels que Durkheim envisageait pour résoudre les dysfonctionnements du monde économique et les risques de désintégration des travailleurs. Il revient aussi sur la conception durkheimienne de l’Etat. En rapprochant les textes écrits pour l’essentiel dans la dernière décennie du XIX e siècle, y compris ses cours professés à l’Université de Bordeaux, il est possible d’esquisser les fondements d’une théorie durkheimienne des liens sociaux, mais aussi d’en cerner les limites. (shrink)

This paper investigates hypotheses drawn from two sources: (1) Belsky, Steinberg, and Draper’s (1991) attachment theory model of the development of reproductive strategies, and (2) recent life history models and comparative data suggesting that environmental risk and uncertainty may be potent determinants of the optimal tradeoff between current and future reproduction. A retrospective, self-report study of 136 American university women aged 19–25 showed that current recollections of early stress (environmental risk and uncertainty) were related to individual differences in (...) adult time preference and adult sexual behavior, and that individual differences in time preference were related to adult attachment organization and sexual behavior. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that perceptions of early stress index environmental risk and uncertainty and mediate the attachment process and the development of reproductive strategies. On this view individual differences in time preference are considered to be part of the attachment theoretical construct of an internal working model, which itself is conceived as an evolved algorithm for the contingent development of alternative reproductive strategies. (shrink)

Theories of personality and personality disorders need, from time to time, to be revised and updated according to new empirical and conceptual developments. Such development has taken place in the realms of affective neuroscience, evolution and social cognition. In this article we outline a new personality theory which claims that phenomena we usually ascribe to the concept personality are best understood by postulating a web consisting of three major constituents: Temperament (mainly primary emotions), attachment and self-consciousness (mentalizing). We (...) describe these constituents, their neurobiological underpinnings, the subjective experiences they evoke and their behavioral implications. We discuss the relevance of the espoused theory for the field of personality disorders with references to borderline, narcissistic and avoidant personality disorders as well as the DSM-5 Alternative Model. Implications for social psychology, psychotherapy and common-sense self-understanding are outlined. The theory aims to bridge previous contradictions between natural sciences and hermeneutics by its propositions of the evolution of self-consciousness. (shrink)

The paper analyses the interrelationship between Armstrong’s egalitarian theory and his treatment of the ‘attachment theory’ of resources, which is the dominant rival theory of resources that his theory is pitched against. On Armstrong’s theory, egalitarianism operates as a default position, from which special claims would need to be justified, but he also claims to be able to incorporate 'attachment' into his theory. The general question explored in the paper is the extent (...) to which ‘attachment’ claims can be ‘married’ to an egalitarian theory. The more specific argument is that a properly constrained attachment theory is more plausible than Armstrong’s egalitarian theory. It also criticizes attachment and improvement accounts as justifying permanent sovereignty over resources. The paper argues that neither of those arguments aim to justify the international doctrine of permanent sovereignty. (shrink)

This paper endeavours to move Axel Honneth's recognition-theoretic reconstruction of psychoanalysis beyond its existing focus on the perspective of Winnicott. To this end, it places Honneth into conversation with several non-Winnicottian approaches to the phenomena of insecure attachment and narcissistic vulnerability: the attachment theory of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, the self psychological perspective of Heinz Kohut, and a more recent intersubjectivist psychoanalytic paradigm set forth by Robert Stolorow, George Atwood, Bernard Brandchaft, and Donna Orange. Similar to (...) Honneth, these authors seek to lay bare the maladaptive genetic circumstances under which the psyche becomes alienated from its capacity for self-realization and its ability to engage in healthful intersubjective endeavours. However, with respect to our primary affective relationships, their accounts of pathogenesis depart from Honneth's, focusing not just on overt physical abuse and negligence, but also on other, seemingly more mund.. (shrink)

This target article presents an integrated evolutionary model of the development of attachment and human reproductive strategies. It is argued that sex differences in attachment emerge in middle childhood, have adaptive significance in both children and adults, and are part of sex-specific life history strategies. Early psychosocial stress and insecure attachment act as cues of environmental risk, and tend to switch development towards reproductive strategies favoring current reproduction and higher mating effort. However, due to sex differences in (...) life history trade-offs between mating and parenting, insecure males tend to adopt avoidant strategies, whereas insecure females tend to adopt anxious/ambivalent strategies, which maximize investment from kin and mates. Females are expected to shift to avoidant patterns when environmental risk is more severe. Avoidant and ambivalent attachment patterns also have different adaptive values for boys and girls, in the context of same-sex competition in the peer group: in particular, the competitive and aggressive traits related to avoidant attachment can be favored as a status-seeking strategy for males. Finally, adrenarche is proposed as the endocrine mechanism underlying the reorganization of attachment in middle childhood, and the implications for the relationship between attachment and sexual development are explored. Sex differences in the development of attachment can be fruitfully integrated within the broader framework of adaptive plasticity in life history strategies, thus contributing to a coherent evolutionary theory of human development. (shrink)

This target article presents an integrated evolutionary model of the development of attachment and human reproductive strategies. It is argued that sex differences in attachment emerge in middle childhood, have adaptive significance in both children and adults, and are part of sex-specific life history strategies. Early psychosocial stress and insecure attachment act as cues of environmental risk, and tend to switch development towards reproductive strategies favoring current reproduction and higher mating effort. However, due to sex differences in (...) life history trade-offs between mating and parenting, insecure males tend to adopt avoidant strategies, whereas insecure females tend to adopt anxious/ambivalent strategies, which maximize investment from kin and mates. Females are expected to shift to avoidant patterns when environmental risk is more severe. Avoidant and ambivalent attachment patterns also have different adaptive values for boys and girls, in the context of same-sex competition in the peer group: in particular, the competitive and aggressive traits related to avoidant attachment can be favored as a status-seeking strategy for males. Finally, adrenarche is proposed as the endocrine mechanism underlying the reorganization of attachment in middle childhood, and the implications for the relationship between attachment and sexual development are explored. Sex differences in the development of attachment can be fruitfully integrated within the broader framework of adaptive plasticity in life history strategies, thus contributing to a coherent evolutionary theory of human development. (shrink)

Addiction and certain varieties of interpersonal attachment share strikingly similar psycho-behavioral structures. Neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers have often adduced such similarities between addiction and attachment to argue that many typical cases of romantic love represent addictions to one’s partner and thus might be appropriate candidates for medical treatment. In this paper, I argue for the relatively neglected thesis that some paradigmatic cases of addiction are aptly characterized as emotional attachments to their objects. This has implications for how we (...) should understand the nature of addiction and for the ethics of attachment more broadly. (shrink)

La théorie de l’attachement offre un cadre conceptuel fécond pour comprendre la dynamique de l’adolescence et ses aléas. De plus elle donne des repères précieux pour orienter le traitement en complément d’autres approches. Au cours de cette période l’équilibre entre attachement et exploration est crucial. Si les expériences précoces et les modèles internes opérant qui en émergent jouent un rôle important, il faut insister sur le fait que la relation actuelle avec les parents reste déterminante. Un état d’esprit insécure n’est (...) pas une pathologie en soi mais constitue par contre un facteur de risque majeur de survenue d’un trouble. Les adolescents détachés développent plus souvent des troubles dits « externalisés », tandis que les « préoccupés » décompensent plutôt avec des troubles dits « internalisés ». Si l’on se réfère à la théorie de l’attachement l’un des principaux objectifs du dispositif de soin est d’offrir une base de sécurité, à l’adolescent mais aussi à ses parent, pour leur permettre une reprise de l’exploration d’eux-mêmes et des relations. (shrink)

Disasters incurred by natural hazards affect young people most. Schools play a vital role in safeguarding the wellbeing of their pupils. Consideration of schools’ psychosocial influence on children may be vital to resilience-building efforts in disaster-vulnerable settings. This paper presents an evidence-based conceptualization of how schools are psychosocially meaningful for children and youth in disaster settings. Drawing on Social Representations and Place Attachment Theories, we explore the nature of group-based meaning-making practices and the meanings that emerge concerning school environments (...) in disaster settings. We contribute a novel understanding of how schools may mitigate psychosocial risk for young people by considering how schools are conceptualised at four levels: (1) as physical environment, (2) as social arena, (3) as a place with individual and (4) group-based significance. In each of these domains schools can foster disaster resilience in young people. This paper highlights the evidence concerning the functions of schools beyond their capacity as educational institutions, critically considering their social and physical functions in their communities. This evidence can inform stakeholders involved in disaster resilience building. (shrink)

Si l’attachement à une personne référente est reconnu comme essentiel dans la construction psychique du jeune enfant, sa théorie reste peu envisagée pour appréhender la clinique du sujet âgé et la nature de ses relations à autrui. La vieillesse rend parfois le sujet vulnérable physiquement et psychiquement et inscrit la personne âgée dans une relation de dépendance à autrui, qualifié alors d’« aidant familial principal ». À travers les exemples de l’attachement dans le couple vieillissant et l’attachement en institution, il (...) s’agit de comprendre pourquoi ce besoin d’attachement se trouve réactivé au temps de la vieillesse et en quoi la théorie de l’attachement peut venir éclairer la clinique du sujet âgé. (shrink)