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The Latest Science of Attachment with R. Chris Fraley

July 5, 2017

Today we have one of the world’s most preeminent attachment scientists, Dr. R. Chris Fraley, on the podcast! Fraley is a Professor at the University of Illinois’s Department of Psychology and received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award in 2007 for Early Career Contribution to Psychology in the area of Individual Differences. In this episode of The Psychology Podcast, we take a deep dive into a few of Chris’ many interesting research areas: attachment processes in close relationships, personality dynamics, and development.

Some of the questions we explore are: How are attachment styles measured? How does research on attachment styles differ between children and adults? What are the implications of individual differences in adult attachment styles? How does this relate to internal working models theory? How does all of that relate to one’s own motivational account? What are the roles of nature vs. nurture in the development of attachment styles?

Note to our listeners: You may have already gotten the sense that this conversation is a bit technical, mostly geared towards those who are interested in understanding the debate, and the various nuances on the table. Nevertheless, we hope you enjoy the show, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts in the discussion below!


2 Responses to “The Latest Science of Attachment with R. Chris Fraley”

  1. Jen says:

    I’d be curious to know if anyone has found a correlation between avoidant attachment styles and non monogamous or poly relationships. Seems to me that individuals that have trouble making close personal attachments with people might also be the ones who find being non monogamous very comforting since they never have to get too close to their partners. Any research been done?

    • Scott Barry Kaufman says:

      What a terrific question. I can’t find any studies on that, but would be interested in the results as well.

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