Foundations

The theoretical foundations that inform TEG-Blue's framework. Each theory is integrated and extended within our model.

psychology

TheoryJohn Bowlby

Attachment Theory

Early relational experiences create internal working models that shape emotional regulation, relational patterns, and threat responses across the lifespan.

TEG-Blue Integration: Attachment patterns map onto the four regulatory modes: secure attachment aligns with Connect, anxious attachment with Protect, avoidant attachment with Control/Collapse, and disorganized attachment with oscillation between modes. TEG-Blue extends this by tracking how these patterns transmit across generations.

Core Concept

Attachment Theory, developed by John Bowlby and expanded by Mary Ainsworth, proposes that the quality of early caregiving relationships creates internal working models — mental templates for how relationships function. These models influence emotional regulation strategies, interpersonal behavior, and stress responses throughout life.

How TEG-Blue Integrates This

TEG-Blue maps attachment patterns as default regulatory positions within the Four-Mode Gradient. Secure attachment produces a default Connect state with flexible movement. Insecure patterns create gravitational pulls toward specific modes. The Circuit Board component tracks how these attachment-derived defaults were formed and how they can be consciously reworked.

Key Sources

Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. Basic Books. · Ainsworth, M. D. S. et al. (1978). Patterns of Attachment. Erlbaum. · Main, M. & Hesse, E. (1990). Parents' unresolved traumatic experiences are related to infant disorganized attachment status.

neuroscience

TheoryStephen Porges

Polyvagal Theory

The autonomic nervous system operates through three hierarchical circuits — ventral vagal, sympathetic, and dorsal vagal — that shape our capacity for social engagement, mobilization, and immobilization.

TEG-Blue Integration: The Four-Mode Gradient maps directly onto polyvagal states: Connect (ventral vagal), Protect (sympathetic), Collapse (dorsal vagal), and Restore (re-regulation pathway back to ventral vagal).

Core Concept

Polyvagal Theory proposes that the autonomic nervous system has three distinct branches organized hierarchically. The most evolved (ventral vagal) supports social engagement and calm states. The sympathetic branch activates fight-or-flight responses. The oldest (dorsal vagal) produces shutdown and immobilization. The nervous system moves through these states based on neuroception — an unconscious assessment of safety or threat.

How TEG-Blue Integrates This

TEG-Blue's Four-Mode Gradient extends polyvagal theory by adding the Restore pathway as a distinct fourth state, mapping not just the three autonomic states but the active process of returning to regulation. This creates a complete circuit rather than a simple hierarchy, acknowledging that recovery is itself a distinct neurophysiological process.

Key Sources

Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. Norton. · Porges, S. W. (2017). The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory. Norton. · Dana, D. (2018). The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy. Norton.