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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–10Cite as

Romantic Attachment

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Synonyms

Adult attachment; Pair-bond attachment

Definition

Romantic attachment is a deep emotional, and often sexual, bond with another person. This idea of romantic love is believed to be the integration of the attachment system along with the caregiving system and the mating system (Hazan and Shaver 1987). Romantic attachment is comprised of two independent dimensions: avoidance of intimacy, or generalized beliefs that others are not dependable and trustworthy, and anxiety about abandonment, or generalized beliefs about one’s self, believing that one is valuable and worthy of affection. A romantic attachment characterized by low feelings of avoidance and anxiety is considered to be secure.

Introduction

When John Bowlby (1969/1982, 1988) originally proposed attachment theory, he conceived of attachment as extending over the entire lifespan and reasoned that our desire for attachment figures extends from “cradle to grave” (p. 62). In short, Bowlby argued that because of our...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

    C. Veronica Smith

  2. Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Benjamin W. Hadden

Authors
  1. C. Veronica Smith
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  2. Benjamin W. Hadden
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Veronica Smith .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, USA

    Brian B Boutwell

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Smith, C.V., Hadden, B.W. (2018). Romantic Attachment. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1714-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1714-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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