Early notions of attachment in close relationships were first proposed in 1969 and again throughout the 1970s in an attempt to give insight into the development of intimacy and closeness among humans across early stages of the life span. John Bowlby can be said to have initiated this area of study when he broadened his conceptualization of the bonding and attachment processes to extend beyond just those experiences of infants; his book, Attachment Theory, became one of the more widely used theories of intimacy in relationships. With Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver’s 1987 extrapolation of Bowlby’s original ideas to include romantic dyads, attachment is now one of the most often used variables in adult romantic relationship research. The major tenets of this theory include not only the explication of attachment across the life span but also the development of specific attachment styles with predictive and explanatory power. These attachment styles are seen as having specific utility in both relationship processes and outcomes.

Littlejohn, Stephen W and Karen A.Floss. (2009). Encyclopedia of Communication Theory.USA:SAGE.

Penanggungjawab naskah :

Gayes Mahestu
Edwina Ayu Kustiawan