Introduction xv so they prefer men with resources. By selecting for this trait, the power differential between men and women is amplified. Men’s accommodation to roles with greater power encourage dominant behavior, and women’s accommodation to roles with lesser power reinforces subordinate behav- ior. Eagly and Wood (1999) examined the cross-cultural data collected by Buss (1989) as well as data collected by the United Nations and found sup- port for their proposition that power imbalance, more than biology, pre- dicts gender differences. Cultures with traditional divisions of labor exhibited the expected complementary role pattern. Countries that were more egalitarian in their division of roles, such as Canada, Denmark, Fin- land, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United States did not adhere as strictly to complementary mate selection. Zentner and Mitura (2012) conducted a more recent analysis, which corroborated Eagly and Wood’s (1999) findings. These studies demonstrate that biological sex is not as strong a predictor of sexual behaviors than the power associated with each sex in a given society. Attachment Theory Attachment theory describes people’s general orientation toward rela- tionships. It first emerged as an evolutionary framework but has since been adopted by social scientists. The essence of the theory is that every- one is born with the biological desire to form attachment bonds, but the particular style a person develops is based on the person’s socialization (Bowlby 1982). Given that attachment styles are socialized rather than biologically determined, it is possible to change styles over the course of one’s life. Usually, however, once people develop a certain style, they act in ways that cause others to respond according to their existing style, so it can be difficult to change, especially after a lifetime of reinforcement. There are four adult attachment styles that can be described along two dimensions: anxiety and avoidance of intimacy (Brennan, Clark, and Shaver 1998). In every culture, 50% to 75% of the adult population— with China at the low end and the UK at the high end—espouse a secure style, which is characterized as low on both anxiety and avoidance of intimacy (Bakermans-Kranenburg and van IJzendoorn 2009 Van IJzen- doorn and Kroonenberg 1988). A secure style develops among children who have caregivers that consistently and responsively meet their needs. Having learned that people can be relied upon, the child therefore readily
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