Chapter 3: Security and Attachment

Throughout my entire career the underlying aim has been the understanding of intimate interpersonal relationships, especially the earliest of these, and how they influence subsequent personality development. Undoubtedly it was this interest—then half-recognized—that led me to choose to study psychology when an undergraduate at the University of Toronto in the early 1930s. This core interest became overt after having attended Professor William Blatz’s courses in genetic and abnormal psychology, in which he introduced us to his “security theory.” At the same time, an experimental project directed by Professor Sperrin Chant taught me that research could be fascinating. These experiences, especially, led me to stay on at Toronto as a graduate student.