Editing Limerence (section)

=== Attachment theory ===
[[Attachment theory]] refers to [[John Bowlby|John Bowlby's]] concept of an "attachment system", a system evolved to keep infants in proximity of their caregiver (or "attachment figure").<ref name="diamond2003" /><ref name="hazanshaver" /><ref name="4th-dim">{{cite journal |last1=Berscheid |first1=Ellen |date=2010 |title=Love in the Fourth Dimension |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100318 |journal=[[Annual Review of Psychology]] |volume=61 |pages=1–25 |doi=10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100318 |pmid=19575626|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A person uses their attachment figure as a "secure base" to feel safe exploring the environment, seeks proximity with the attachment figure when threatened, and suffers distress when separated.<ref name="4th-dim" /><ref name="hazanshaver" /> A prominent theory suggests this system is reused for adult pair bonds, as an [[exaptation]] or co-option, whereby a given trait takes on a new purpose.<ref name="hazanshaver" /><ref name="co-opted" /><ref name="diamond2003" /> Attachment style refers to differences in attachment-related thoughts and behaviors, especially relating to the concept of security vs. insecurity.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Fraley |first1=Chris |title=Handbook of Personality, Third Edition: Theory and Research |last2=Shaver |first2=Phillip |date=5 August 2008 |publisher=[[Guilford Press]] |isbn=9781606237380 |edition=3rd |pages=518–541 |chapter=Attachment Theory and Its Place in Contemporary Personality Theory and Research}}</ref><ref name="hazanshaver" /> This can be split into components of anxiety (worrying the partner is available, attentive and responsive) and avoidance (preference not to rely on others or open up emotionally).<ref name=":2" />

In [[Helen Fisher (anthropologist)|Helen Fisher's]] taxonomy, limerence and attachment are considered different systems with different purposes.<ref name="fisher1998" /><ref name="fisher2002" /> In the past, other authors have also suggested that limerence could be related to the anxious attachment style.<ref name="hazanshaver" /><ref name="feeneynoller" /> However, in their original 1987 paper conceptualizing romantic love as an attachment process (and relating limerence to attachment style), Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver also caution that they are not implying that the early phase of romance is equivalent to being attached.<ref name="hazanshaver" /> Other prominent authors have also criticized the idea that attachment theory can replace concepts like love styles or types of love.<ref>{{harvnb|Hendrick|Hendrick|2006|pp=162-163}}</ref><ref name="4th-dim"/>

A 1990 study found that the 15% of participants who self-reported an anxious attachment style scored highly on limerence measures (especially obsessive preoccupation and emotional dependence scales), but found considerable overlap of distributions between all three attachment styles and limerence.<ref name="feeneynoller" /> Studies and a meta-analysis by Bianca Acevedo & [[Arthur Aron]] found that while passionate love with obsession is associated with relationship satisfaction in short-term relationships, it's associated with slightly decreased satisfaction over the long-term and they speculate this could be related to insecure attachment.<ref name="acevedo2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Acevedo |first1=Bianca |last2=Aron |first2=Arthur |date=1 March 2009 |title=Does a Long-Term Relationship Kill Romantic Love? |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1037/a0014226 |journal=[[Review of General Psychology]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=59–65 |doi=10.1037/a0014226|url-access=subscription }}: "Passionate love, 'a state of intense longing for union with another' (Hatfield & Rapson, 1993, p. 5), also referred to as [...] 'limerence' (Tennov, 1979), includes an obsessive element, characterized by intrusive thinking, uncertainty, and mood swings."</ref>