Social Change and Human Development: Revisiting Van Lange’s Proposition on Attachment and Social Orientation

In our previous paper, Van Lange’s suggested link between early bonding and social values orientations was explored using same questionnaires applied to non-western participants. The results showed strong differences which were attributed to possible socioeconomic change. In this paper, we revisited those findings considering Greenfield ?s theory on social change and human development. Thus, after a brief review of major tenets of that theory, we documented the socioeconomic changes reported by the Mexican government finding a strong support for her theory. Findings show that between 2000-2020 major sociodemographic changes occurred such as: overall population increased, women’s participation in labor force and in college education increased, and technological changes, specifically internet. Overall, Greenfield’s proposition that sociodemographic changes lead to cultural change, and this into changes in socialization, may explain the observed inconsistencies in attachment and therefore, social orientation values.