R. Chris Fraley
There are vast individual differences in the ways in which people relate to significant others in their lives. Some people, for example, are relatively secure in their relationships: They are comfortable opening up to others and having others depend on them. Other people, in contrast, are insecure: They are uncomfortable depending on others and worry that others will not be available when needed. Social and personality psychologists refer to these kinds of individual differences as “attachment styles.” In this talk I will review research on why some people are more secure than others. Specifically, I’ll discuss five conclusions that have emerged from research over the past two decades. In addition, I will discuss some of the challenges and opportunities involved in changing people’s attachment styles.
R. Chris Fraley is a Professor at the University of Illinois’s Department of Psychology. He received his PhD from the University of California, Davis in 1999 in Social-Personality Psychology. In 2007 he received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology in the area of Individual Differences. In 2025 he received the Carol and Ed Diener Mid-Career Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. He has served as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Chris’s research involves the study of attachment processes in close relationships, personality dynamics and development, and research methods (with an emphasis on open science and dynamic modeling). The majority of his research is focused on understanding why some people are more secure than others in their close relationships, the implications of attachment (in)security for psychological well-being and relationship functioning, and how attachment patterns change over time.