When we combine these two dimensions, we get the four-category model
shown in Figure 6.4. Adults who are comfortable with closeness and who
don’t overly concern themselves about being abandoned are classified as
secure. Like the secure adults in the three-category model, these people tend
to seek out and are comfortable with intimate relationships. However, some
people who don’ t fear abandonment still have a deep-seated mistrust of
others. These avoidant individuals (sometimes called dismissing ) shy away
from close relationships. They are reluctant to trust others or to become tooemotionally dependent for fear of being hurt.
People classified in the other two quadrants of the model suffer from feel-
ings that they are unlovable, which burdens them with a constant fear thattheir loved ones will abandon them. Those who are comfortable with close-
ness fall into the anxious-ambivalent category (sometimes called preoccupied ).
Because these individuals lack internal feelings of self-worth, they seek self-
acceptance by becoming close and intimate with others. In a sense, they are
trying to prove that they must be worthy of love if this other person finds
them lovable. Unfortunately, their lack of self-worth leaves preoccupied peo-
ple vulnerable to heartbreak when their partner fails to meet their strong inti-
macy needs. Additionally, we have disoriented (sometimes called fearful )
people. These adults see themselves as unworthy of love and doubt that ro-
mantic involvement will provide the much-needed intimacy. They avoid get-
ting close to others because they fear the pain of rejection.
Students correctly ask whether the three- or four-category model best de-
scribes the different kinds of adult attachment styles. The answer is that bothmodels are useful, although there is a clear trend in recent research toward
using the four-category model. Because researchers sometimes divide partici-
pants into three categories and sometimes into four, occasionally it is difficult
to compare results across studies. Nonetheless, because of the similarity between
the two models, research using either scheme is valuable, and the research
reviewed in the next section relies on studies using both models.SecureAnxious-Ambivalent/
Preoccupied
Avoidant/
DismissingDisoriented/
FearfulLow
Low
HighHighFear of Abandonment
Fear of
Closeness
FIGURE 6.4 Four Types of Attachment
Source: Adapted from Brennan et al. (1998).Attachment Style and Adult Relationships 143