Chapter 11 Quiz: Attachment Theory and Adult Romance

12 questions covering Bowlby's foundational theory, Ainsworth's Strange Situation, Hazan and Shaver's extension to adult romance, the four-category model, ECR-R measurement, attachment styles in courtship, and the anxious-avoidant trap. Answer all questions; review the chapter sections indicated if you're uncertain.

Question 1

John Bowlby developed attachment theory partly in response to the "cupboard love" theory, which held that infant emotional bonds formed because:

A) Mothers provided physical warmth and security B) Infants were biologically programmed to bond with the first person they saw C) Caregivers were the source of food, making emotional bonds derivative of hunger drives D) Attachment served the social cohesion of the family group rather than the individual infant

(See Section 11.1)

Question 2

In Ainsworth's Strange Situation, the most diagnostically informative behavioral episode is:

A) The initial exploration period, showing how actively the infant engages with the environment B) The separation episode, during which the caregiver leaves the room C) The stranger introduction, showing how the infant responds to unfamiliar adults D) The reunion episode, during which the caregiver returns to the infant

(See Section 11.2)

Question 3

An infant who becomes intensely distressed during caregiver separation, and then upon reunion both clings to and angrily pushes away the returning caregiver, is displaying which attachment pattern?

A) Secure (Type B) B) Anxious-ambivalent/resistant (Type C) C) Anxious-avoidant (Type A) D) Disorganized/disoriented (Type D)

(See Section 11.2)

Question 4

Hazan and Shaver's 1987 paper made which central theoretical claim?

A) Romantic love in adults is primarily driven by physical attraction and familiarity effects B) Adult attachment styles are genetic traits, heritable from one's parents C) Romantic love in adults functions as an attachment process, with partners serving safe haven and secure base functions D) Infant attachment classifications do not predict adult relationship patterns because personality fully reorganizes during adolescence

(See Section 11.3)

Question 5

In the Bartholomew-Horowitz four-category model, the "dismissing-avoidant" style is defined by which combination of internal working models?

A) Negative model of self, positive model of others B) Positive model of self, positive model of others C) Positive model of self, negative model of others D) Negative model of self, negative model of others

(See Section 11.4)

Question 6

The ECR-R (Experiences in Close Relationships — Revised) measures attachment along two continuous dimensions. Which pair correctly names these dimensions?

A) Security and disorganization B) Anxiety and avoidance C) Dependency and autonomy D) Intimacy and commitment

(See Section 11.5)

Question 7

Which of the following best describes a "hyperactivating strategy" as Mikulincer and Shaver use the term?

A) The strategy of intensifying the expression of attachment needs in hopes of compelling a response from an inconsistently responsive attachment figure B) The strategy of suppressing attachment needs to avoid the rejection that expressing them has historically produced C) The deliberate use of emotional manipulation to control a partner's behavior D) Physiological arousal that accompanies the early stages of romantic attraction

(See Section 11.7)

Question 8

Research using physiological measures (heart rate, cortisol) on avoidantly attached individuals during separation situations finds that they:

A) Are genuinely calm and unaffected, confirming their self-reports of independence B) Show lower physiological reactivity than secure individuals, suggesting successful emotional regulation C) Show elevated physiological arousal despite appearing outwardly calm, indicating active suppression rather than true indifference D) Are indistinguishable from anxiously attached individuals on physiological measures

(See Section 11.8)

Question 9

The fearful-avoidant (disorganized) attachment pattern is best characterized by:

A) Consistent preference for emotional independence and self-sufficiency, with low distress at relationship loss B) A fundamental approach-avoidance conflict — intense desire for intimacy combined with equally intense fear of it C) A secure sense of self paired with difficulty trusting the motives of specific partners D) High emotional expressiveness with quick recovery from relational disappointments

(See Section 11.9)

Question 10

The "anxious-avoidant trap" — the systematic attraction between anxiously and dismissing-avoidantly attached individuals — is theoretically explained by several mechanisms. Which of the following is NOT one of the mechanisms discussed in the chapter?

A) Mutual confirmation of internal working models, where both partners find familiar patterns predictable B) The anxious partner's intensity can temporarily break through the avoidant partner's defenses, producing moments of genuine connection C) Anxious individuals consciously choose avoidant partners as a deliberate self-improvement strategy D) The dynamic tends to become self-amplifying over time, with both partners pushed to the extremes of their strategies

(See Section 11.12)

Question 11

Cross-cultural research on infant attachment (van IJzendoorn and Sagi meta-analysis) found that:

A) Secure attachment was NOT the modal pattern in non-Western samples, challenging the universality of Bowlby's framework B) Secure attachment was the modal pattern across all samples, but the proportions of insecure patterns varied meaningfully by country C) Attachment classifications were not stable enough across cultures to be studied with the Strange Situation D) Avoidant attachment was the modal pattern across all samples studied

(See Section 11.11)

Question 12

The chapter argues that applying attachment theory without attention to structural context risks:

A) Overemphasizing biological factors at the expense of learning theory B) Individualizing what are essentially social problems — attributing to personal or family history what is partly the downstream effect of poverty, racism, and systemic marginalization C) Making attachment theory too abstract and difficult for clinical application D) Conflating adult attachment with infant attachment in ways that obscure important developmental differences

(See Section 11.14)

Answer Key

  1. C
  2. D
  3. B
  4. C
  5. C
  6. B
  7. A
  8. C
  9. B
  10. C
  11. B
  12. B