Personal Development: Relationships and Attachment

Personal Development

• Personal relationships involve emotional bonding and interactions between people.
• Attachment is a crucial emotional bond in close relationships, providing security and support.
• Attraction is the initial spark or appeal that draws people together, often involving physical or emotional appeal
• Love is a deeper emotional connection encompassing care, affection, and commitment.
• Intimacy involves sharing personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences, fostering trust and closeness.

Attachment Styles

• Secure Attachment: Individuals feel comfortable with intimacy and autonomy, fostering healthy relationships.
• Anxious Attachment: People with this style seek closeness and reassurance, experiencing anxiety about their partner's commitment.
• Avoidant Attachment: Those with this style value independence and resist closeness often leading to distant relationships.

Attraction

• Dopamine is the "feel-good" neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and attraction.
• Oxytocin, the "bonding hormone", is released with physical touch.
• Serotonin affects mood and emotional well-being in the experience of attraction
• Norepinephrine is associated with arousal and heightened emotions in attraction.
• Pheromones are chemical signals influencing attraction subconsciously.

Love

• Philia represents love and affection between friends, based on mutual respect and companionship.
• Eros is passionate love associated with physical attraction, desire, and romantic/sexual longing.
• Storge is natural affection, especially in family bonds, based on familiarity, empathy, and long-term connection.
• Agape is the highest form of love, associated with selflessness, compassion, and unconditional love.

Intimacy

• Involves sharing thoughts, feelings, and experiences creating closeness and trust within a relationship.

Triangular Theory of Love

• Proposes love as a combination of three components:
  • Intimacy: emotional closeness, warmth, and connection.
  • Passion: motivation, physical attraction, desire, and sexual intimacy.
  • Commitment: Decision to maintain and sustain the relationship over time.

Responsibilities in a Relationship

• Emotional Support and Care: Offering comfort and understanding during times of need.
• Communication: Active listening and open expression to address needs and resolve conflicts.
• Trust and Loyalty: Honesty and consistency building a secure bond.
• Equality and Fairness: Sharing responsibilities.
• Affection and Intimacy: Physical and emotional affection, verbal and physical expressions of love.
• Shared Responsibility: Working collaboratively on home tasks and financial considerations.
• Personal Growth and Development: Supporting each other's development in different areas (career, interests).
• Accountability and Responsibility: Ownership of actions, keeping commitments, and contributing to the relationship's well-being.
• Spending Quality Time Together: Being present and connected emotionally.
• Mutual Respect: Valuing each other, opinions, beliefs, and boundaries.

Seven Types of Love

• Nonlove: No components (intimacy, passion, commitment).
• Liking: Intimacy, no passion or commitment.
• Infatuation: Passion, no intimacy or commitment.
• Empty Love: Commitment, but no intimacy or passion.
• Romantic Love: Intimacy and passion, but no commitment.
• Companionate Love: Intimacy and commitment, but no passion.
• Fatuous Love: Passion and commitment but no intimacy.
• Consummate Love: All three components.

Social Intelligence

• Includes Social Awareness (perceiving needs, emotions, of others)
• & Social Facility (acting in ways that strengthen relationships).

Career Development

• Self-assessment: Understanding strengths, skills, interests, and values.
• Goal setting: Creating short-term and long-term goals to stay motivated.
• Skill development: Continuously improving skills and knowledge.
• Career exploration: Researching different jobs and industries.
• Adaptability and resilience: Adapting to market or personal changes.

Personality Influence

• Personality (introvert/extrovert) affects preferred work environment and interaction styles.
• Interests determine enjoyment/passion levels and influence career choices.
• Values (helping others, financial stability, career fulfillment) influence career selection.
• Lifestyle preferences (work-life balance, flexible hours) significantly impact career choices.

Career Decision Making

• The process of choosing a career path based on interests, skills, and external factors.
• Involves evaluating job options, goals, and potential career paths.

Family Structures

• Includes traditional nuclear family, extended family, single-parent, blended, and co-habitating families.

Parental Authority Styles

• Authoritative (warm, loving, rules with explanation).
• Authoritarian (strict rules, little explanation).
• Permissive (loving, few rules, avoids conflict).
• Neglectful(distant, limited care, discipline).

Life Goals & Career Goals

• Life goals provide direction and purpose for career choices and decisions.