Research Catalog

Title

The dynamics of connection : how evolution and biology create caregiving and attachment / David C. Bell.

Author

Bell, David C., 1944-

Publication

Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, c2010.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xiv, 292 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"The Dynamics of Connection: How Evolution and Biology Create Caregiving and Attachment describes the logic of giving, love, trust, and nurturance. Bowlby's theory of attachment provides an excellent starting point for an explanation of nurturance, but there are some limitations in this theory, especially its tendency to minimize the caregiving side of the relationship. The book builds on and extends Bowlby's theory by examining the evolutionary evidence for both attachment and caregiving, the origins of which can be seen in the earliest mammals. It describes neurobiological research that has identified the brain circuits that underlie caregiving and attachment." "The book then describes a theory of relationships based on these neurobiological circuits and the resulting human desire to give and receive emotional contact, warmth, and support. The theory details the emotional logic of this relationship process. The proactive connection process (caregiving), characteristic of parents, involves a growing capacity for both empathy and responsibility. In the receptive process (attachment), trust grows from the experience of being cared for and nurtured. These processes coexist alongside other motivations with which they interact."--Jacket.

Subject

• Caregivers
• Nurturing behavior
• Object Attachment
• Biological Evolution
• Caregivers
• Parent-Child Relations
• Empathy
• Cultural Evolution

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [255]-292) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

The riddle of nurturance -- Bowlby's account of attachment and caregiving -- The evolution of caregiving and attachment -- The neurobiology of caregiving and attachment -- Caregiving -- Attachment -- Interconnections -- A connection theory of adult relationship formation -- Reconsidering families.

ISBN

• 9780739143520 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 0739143522 (cloth : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2009054093

OCLC

496967095

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library