ABSTRACT
Attachment theory, like the social competition model, is founded within a biological-evolutionary framework. The tendency of the infant and young child (and adult in times of danger) to maintain proximity with a protective other has been genetically determined during the evolutionary history of the human species. The maintenance of proximity increased the probability of survival and procreation in the environment within which the human species evolved. Statistics on traffic fatalities indicate that this evolutionary mechanism continues to operate, with a disproportionate number of deaths occurring among young, unaccompanied children (see Bowlby, 1973). The biological-evolutionary underpinnings of attachment theory render its study particularly germane in the context of social competition theory. Furthermore, the mother—child relationship is the child’s first experience in a hierarchical system, with the mother clearly serving as the dominant partner.
