Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-hgkh8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T20:24:21.722Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

What love has to do with it: An attachment perspective on pair bonding and sexual behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

Vivian Zayas
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601vz29@cornell.eduhttp://people.psych.cornell.edu/~pac_lab/
Daphna Ram
Affiliation:
Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601. dr239@cornell.eduhttp://people.psych.cornell.edu/~pac_lab/

Abstract

Del Giudice proposes that short-term mating strategies are adaptive for attachment-avoidant men. We argue that this model (1) does not apply to the majority of avoidant men (fearful-avoidants); (2) is based on limited evidence that the remaining subset of avoidant men (dismissing-avoidants) engage in short-term mating strategies; and (3) disregards the importance of pair bonding even for dismissing-avoidants.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bartholomew, K. & Horowitz, L. M. (1991) Attachment styles in young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 61:226–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birnbaum, G. E., Reis, H. T., Mikulincer, M., Gillath, O. & Orpaz, A. (2006) When sex is more than just sex: Attachment orientations, sexual experience, and relationship quality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91:929–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bogaert, A. F. & Sadava, S. (2002) Adult attachment and sexual behavior. Personal Relationships 9:191204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1969/1982) Attachment and loss. Vol. 1. Attachment, 2nd edition. Basic Books. (Original work published 1969).Google Scholar
Brassard, A., Shaver, P. R. & Lussier, Y. (2007) Attachment, sexual experience, and sexual pleasure in romantic relationships: A dyadic approach. Personal Relationships 14:475–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brennan, K. A. & Shaver, P. R. (1995) Dimensions of adult attachment, affect regulation, and romantic relationship functioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21:267–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cramer, K. M. & Neyedley, K. A. (1998) Sex differences in loneliness: The role of masculinity and femininity. Sex Roles 38:645–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feeney, B. C. & Collins, N. L. (2001) Predictors of caregiving in adult intimate relationships: An attachment theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 80:972–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fraley, R. C. & Shaver, P. R. (1997) Adult attachment and the suppression of unwanted thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73:1080–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gangestad, S. W. & Thornhill, R. (1997) The evolutionary psychology of extrapair sex: The role of fluctuating asymmetry. Evolution and Human Behavior 18:6988.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harlow, H. & Harlow, M. K. (1965) The affectional systems. In: Behavior of nonhuman primates, vol. 2, ed. Schrier, A. M., Harlow, H. F. & Stollnitz, F., pp. 287334. Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazan, C. & Diamond, L. (2000) The place of attachment in human mating. Review of General Psychology 4:186204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazan, C. & Shaver, P. R. (1987) Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52:511–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
House, J. S., Landis, K. R. & Umberson, D. (1988) Social relationships and health. Science 241:540–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirkpatrick, L. A. & Davis, K. E. (1994) Attachment style, gender and relationship stability: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 66:502–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schachner, D. A. & Shaver, P. R. (2002) Attachment style and human mate poaching. New Review of Social Psychology 1:122–29.Google Scholar
Schachner, D. A. & Shaver, P. R. (2004) Attachment dimensions and motives for sex. Personal Relationships 11:179–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tracy, J. L., Shaver, P. R., Albino, A. W. & Cooper, M. L. (2003) Attachment styles and adolescent sexuality. In: Adolescent romance and sexual behavior: Theory, research, and practical implications, ed. Florsheim, P.. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T. & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996) The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin 119:488531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veith, J. L., Buck, M., Getzlaf, S., Van Dalfsen, P. & Slade, S. (1983) Exposure to men influences the occurrence of ovulation in women. Physiology and Behavior 31:313–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed