50 pages • 1 hour read
Amir Levine, Rachel S.F. HellerAttached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “Your Relationship Toolkit – Deciphering Attachment Styles”
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “Step One: What Is My Attachment Style?”
Chapter 3 begins with a questionnaire designed to help determine the reader’s attachment style. Levine and Heller provide an overview of the history of the questionnaire, which is based on the Experience in Close Relationship (ECR) questionnaire. They include a modified version to the questionnaire within the text and supply a link to the “fully validated adult attachment questionnaire” for readers to reference (40).
The questionnaire asks readers to mark statements about their romantic relationships as either true in column A, false in column B, or neither in column C. Each column corresponds to an attachment style. After completing the questionnaire, readers add up their responses in each column and identify their attachment style. A majority of responses in column A represents an anxious attachment style while a majority of responses in column B represents a secure attachment style. Column C represents an avoidant attachment style. At the end of the questionnaire, Levine and Heller provide an overview of each style. Those with an anxious attachment style crave intimacy with partners but struggle to overcome feelings of inadequacy. Those with a secure attachment style exude warmth and navigate relationships with grace and open communication. Those with an avoidant attachment style may desire intimacy, but waver between this desire and a strong focus on independence that makes them appear emotionally distant.
Levine and Heller offer an answer to those who may still be unsure about their attachment style. They clarify that one’s attachment style is primarily determined by two dimensions: one’s comfort with intimacy and the level of anxiety one experiences surrounding relationships. For further clarification, they provide a visual representation of these dimensions in a chart. Along the x-axis, there is a range of low to high anxiety. Along the y-axis, there is a range of low to high avoidance. Each of the chart’s quadrants represents an attachment style. Levine and Heller list a series of examples of how an individual may be represented on the chart and explain the history of attachment style classifications.
Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary: “Step Two: Cracking the Code—What Is My Partner’s Style?”
In Chapter 4, Levine and Heller instruct readers on how to assess their partner’s attachment style through observation. They explain how unlocking a partner’s attachment style will empower them and improve relationships. The questionnaire for assessing a partner’s attachment style asks readers to read a series of statements grouped by attachment style and mark each set of statements as very untrue, moderately true, or very true. After marking, readers will calculate the total for each group. The highest scored group will indicate the partner’s attachment style.
Levine and Heller elaborate on the attachment style described in each group. Group A represents the avoidant attachment style while Group B represents the secure attachment style. Group C represents the anxious attachment style.
To aid readers who may be unclear about the questionnaire’s outcome, Levine and Heller include “five Golden Rules to help you home in on their attachment style” (62). The first rule instructs the reader to evaluate whether a partner seeks out intimacy. Levine and Heller pose rhetorical questions to guide readers through this evaluation and determine whether a partner hinders intimacy in their relationship.
The second rule asks the reader to assess how sensitive a partner is to rejection. For additional clarification, Levine and Heller suggest in the third rule that the reader not rely on a single example to determine an attachment style, but rather look for larger patterns of behavior. The fourth rule directs the reader to engage in direct communication with a partner and observe the partner’s reaction. The last rule notes the importance of looking for a partner’s absence of responses and actions. Levine and Heller integrate a summary of these rules in a chart that clarifies the actions related to each attachment style.
At the end of Chapter 4, Levine and Heller include six profiles and ask the reader to determine the attachment style featured in each profile. The first profile features Barry, a 46-year-old divorced man who expresses a desire to engage in noncommittal relationships focused on sex rather than intimacy. Levine and Heller assign the avoidant attachment style to Barry and provide an explanation of how Barry’s unwillingness to be emotionally intimate makes him avoidant.
In the second profile, Levine and Heller introduce Bella, a 24-year-old woman in a loving relationship with Mark. Bella addresses Mark’s inexperience with sex; she demonstrates the secure attachment style as she works with Mark to improve their sex life through open communication.
The third profile showcases Janet, a 23-year-old woman who ruminates over her brief romantic encounter with Tim. Due to Janet’s insecure preoccupation over every interaction with Tim, Levine and Heller label Janet with an anxious attachment style.
In the fourth profile, Paul, a 37-year-old man, has abruptly ended his brief relationship with Amanda over perceived flaws. Despite Paul’s expressed desire for intimacy, his sudden termination of the relationship due to unconfirmed external factors reveals his avoidant attachment style.
The fifth profile focuses on Logan, a 34-year-old man who expresses confidence in himself despite his limited dating experience. Since Logan does not conceal or embellish his limited romantic history and allows himself to find intimacy with his partner Mary, Levine and Heller characterize Logan with a secure attachment style.
In the last profile, Levine and Heller introduce Suzanne, a single 33-year-old woman who expresses desperation to meet a partner. As a person with an anxious attachment style, Suzanne’s intense focus on finding intimacy consumes her and leaves her vulnerable to untrustworthy partners.
Part 1, Chapters 3-4 Analysis
Part 1 centers around The Importance of Understanding Attachment Styles. Before aiming to inspire readers to change their behavior, Levine and Heller help them identify their current attachment styles and those of any potential or current partners. To establish the credibility of their questionnaire, the authors discuss its origins in the work of established researchers in the field of attachment theory. To fulfill the educational purpose of their guide, Levine and Heller include a detailed description of each attachment style after readers calculate their scores. Each description features the second-person point of view and speaks directly to the reader. This allows readers to place themselves in the scenarios presented in each description, and aims for readers to understand how each attachment style applies to their own lives.
Throughout their book, Levine and Heller pose rhetorical questions to evoke reader engagement, predict the needs of their audience, and to fulfill the educational purpose of Attached. For example, due to the interactive and personalized nature of the questionnaire, Levine and Heller predict readers may still question what attachment style best applies to them. In anticipation of this, Levine and Heller title a section “What If I’m Still Not Sure?” (45). The first-person point of view of this rhetorical question imagines what readers may need to solidify their understanding. To ensure that their book has practical application and that readers really understand, the authors include other supplementary material. In addition to the graph that helps readers visualize their attachment style, Levine and Heller insert a series of parallel “if” statements that follow the same syntax to describe attachment styles (46). Each statement ends with a declaration of which attachment style applies. The parallel structure of these statements offers a method of determining attachment styles and reinforces the characteristics of each style.
To accomplish their goal of instructing their audience on attachment theory, Levine and Heller devise their organized course of study by asking readers to determine the attachment styles of themselves, their partners, and various individuals. Each part of this process is interactive and requires readers to test their knowledge of attachment styles. As they did in Chapter 3 with the self-assessment, Levine and Heller ensure in Chapter 4 that readers receive multiple explanations to help them accurately evaluate a partner’s attachment style.
Throughout the guide, Levine and Heller formulate lists that summarize important information. The use of numbered lists aims to provide readers with a simplified, easily digestible summary of information. In Chapter 4, the authors create their five “Golden Rules for Deciphering Attachment Styles” with a summary statement to aid readers in uncovering the attachment styles of their partners as well as a thorough explanation of each rule to aid in understanding (62). Furthermore, Levine and Heller aim to appeal to a diverse group of learners by including both written and visual representations of their ideas. For example, the “Cracking Others’ Attachment Style Cheat Sheet” outlines the characteristics of each attachment style in three separate visual columns (65-66).
As a final test of their readers’ knowledge in Part 1, Levine and Heller conclude by asking readers to determine the attachment styles of six different individuals. Rather than using only three profiles to represent each attachment style, Levine and Heller include six to provide a wider examination of the secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles. In addition, the authors feature individuals from a varied range of ages and relationship types to demonstrate the widespread relevance of attachment theory. Written in the first-person point of view, the profiles aim to reveal a personal and detailed account of how each attachment style manifests in human relationships.
