The science behind Anchora

Anchora is built on attachment theory — one of the most researched frameworks in relationship psychology. It describes how people relate to closeness, based on decades of study.

The two dimensions

Attachment is measured along two dimensions: anxiety (how much you worry about closeness and reassurance) and avoidance (how much you lean toward distance and self-reliance). Where you fall on these two axes shapes your style.

The five styles

• The Anchor — secure; comfortable with closeness and independence.
• The Seeker — higher anxiety; loves closely, feels deeply.
• The Guardian — higher avoidance; independent and self-reliant.
• The Navigator — both; wants closeness and guards it carefully.
• The Weaver — balanced; flexes with the situation.

What the research supports — and what it doesn't

Research consistently links attachment style to how satisfied people feel in relationships, and even to how a partner experiences the relationship. That's real, and it's the foundation of Anchora.

But we're honest about the limits: your style is a tendency, not a destiny. Security can be built. A quiz is a starting point for reflection, not a diagnosis. And we'll never sell you a fake compatibility percentage or promise that someone is "the one" — no honest tool can do that.

The research it’s built on

Anchora doesn’t ask you to take our word for it. Attachment theory is one of the most studied frameworks in relationship psychology. A few of the foundational and peer-reviewed sources:

• The foundational paper: Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511–524. — the study that extended attachment theory to adult romantic relationships. View on PubMed
• Meta-analysis — attachment & satisfaction: Candel, O.-S., & Turliuc, M. N. (2019). Insecure attachment and relationship satisfaction: A meta-analysis of actor and partner associations. Personality and Individual Differences. — confirms both attachment anxiety and avoidance are negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. View on ScienceDirect
• How it changes over time: Hadden, Smith, & Webster (2014). Relationship Duration Moderates Associations Between Attachment and Relationship Quality (the Temporal Adult Romantic Attachment model). View on PubMed

These links go to the original scientific sources. We summarize the research in plain language on Anchora, but the studies themselves are there for anyone who wants to read them.