The Anatomy Of Attachment

In the beginning…childhood attachment styles set the stage for the development of long-term relationship patterns.

- Lotus Josiah Seng

PART 2

ATTACHMENT STRATEGIES ARE THE VISIBLE BEHAVIORS THAT WERE DEVELOPED FROM THE NEED TO HANDLE STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, AND 70 TO 80 PERCENT OF CHILDREN’S ATTACHMENT CATEGORIES CAN BE PREDICTED KNOWING THE CAREGIVER’S ATTACHMENT STYLE.

In 1985 an interview was conducted (Main, Kaplan and Cassidy), which furthered the body of research on attachment. Adults in a semi-structured interview (Adult Attachment Interview, AAI) were asked to recall and discuss attachment experiences. When assessing their answers, the content of the stories was not central, but, rather, the current mental representations of those previous experiences. Through this methodology, the researchers gained access to the unconscious layers of mental functioning.

Basic charts of self and others based on early attachments experiences are stored in the so-called “procedural or implicit memory.” This memory contains implicit relational knowledge that is shaped in the first years of life, before the development of language. It’s where daily life automations, the reactions we show without consciously thinking about them—our “bodily reactions”—are stored.

The AAI shows how adults store information about their attachment figures. The quality, quantity, relevance and style of adult responses all were evaluated. Quality reflects the story based on truth and what can be substantiated. Quantity says something about the completeness of the story. Relevance refers to the ability to stay with the topic, and style refers to the ability to use clear and comprehensible language.