Defining and Assessing Individual Differences in Attachment Relationships: Q-Methodology and the Organization of Behavior in Infancy and Early Childhood

Abstract

At times, it seems as if attachment research could fall victim to its own success. In the span of barely 15 years, we have come to accept Freud's view that attachment in infancy constitutes a genuine love relationship. We have recognized that this relationship is closely tracked by patterns of behavior toward caregivers and that this behavior is complexly organized, goalcorrected, and sensitive to environmental input. We have also adapted observational techniques employed by behavioral biologists and learned to examine infant behavior in detail and in context. As a result we have learned