Attached

What do we know about social attachment and human nature? Many of us have had to find new ways of connecting with people recently, but why do we crave these connections so much? How we form our attachments can also vary in style depending on the dynamic, and each one can have a profound effect on us. From parental attachments and pair bonds to the nitty-gritty science of brain chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin, there are a variety of psychological theories about the reasons that humans connect themselves to others. Mostafa El-Kalliny, a doctoral trainee, and Zoe R. Donaldson, an assistant professor in psychology, bring these theories together in an attempt to unearth exactly why we form attachments and how they come to influence us so deeply.