Beyond Dyadic Relationships: The Collective Manifestation of Attachment

Abstract

In the previous chapters I presented the argument that human attachment to social groups is intrinsically linked with an attachment to systems of meaning. Such systems make the existence of social groups possible as they ensure group functioning, promote the exchange of social support, attain social cohesion, and define the group’s identity. I based my argument on the existing literature suggesting that the attachment system is implicated in the establishment of emotional bonds with the social group as a whole as well as with group leaders and other group members. I also referred to many studies suggesting that the attachment system is involved in how individuals engage with religion, political ideology, and social attitudes. The above literature has made a vital contribution as it has highlighted the role of attachment in wider socio-cultural processes. In this chapter I will attempt to extend that contribution by addressing an important limitation I think that literature presents, a limitation that goes beyond the over-reliance on student samples and laboratory experiments: the assumption that attachment is only a dyadic (and an individual) phenomenon. In this chapter I will attempt to stretch my argument further and claim that the attachment system is not implicated only in how individuals relate to social groups, ideological systems, and social institutions, but also in how systems of meaning and group identities are constructed collectively. I will attempt to make a case for the phenomenon of collective attachment.