A multi-modal approach to the study of attachment-related distress

Abstract

The present study investigated the relative contribution of bottom-up and top-down control to task selection in the voluntary task switching (VTS) procedure. In order to manipulate the efficiency of top-down control, a concurrent working-memory load was imposed during VTS. In three experiments bottom-up factors such as stimulus repetitions, repetition of irrelevant information and stimulus-task associations were introduced to investigate their influence on task selection. We observed that the tendency to repeat tasks was stronger under load, suggesting that top-down control counteracts the automatic tendency to repeat tasks. The results also indicated that task selection can be guided by several elements in the environment, but that only the influence of stimulus repetitions depend on the efficiency of top-down control. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed within the interplay between top-down and bottom-up control that underlies the voluntary selection of tasks. R596BVoluntary task switching under load 3Many researchers assume that goal-directed behavior relies on the intentional and controlled activation of task goals (Baddeley, 1992;Logan & Gordon, 2001;Miller & Cohen, 2001). However, several studies demonstrated that task goals can also be activated automatically by information in the environment (e.g. Mattler, 2003;Mayr & Bryck, 2007;Verbruggen & Logan, 2009) or by the retrieval of previously formed associations between a stimulus and a particular goal (e.g. Verbruggen & Logan, 2008;Waszak, Hommel & Allport, 2003). In the present study we examined the contribution of top-down and bottom-up activation of task goals in voluntary task switching (VTS).In VTS, subjects switch between cognitive tasks. They are free to select the task to perform, as long as each task is selected an approximate equal number of times and subjects do not follow a predictable pattern of task selections (Arrington, 2008;Arrington & Logan, 2004;2005;Liefooghe, Demanet, & Vandierendonck, 2009;Mayr & Bell, 2006). A general finding is that subjects repeat tasks more often than they switch (Arrington & Logan, 2005). This task-repetition bias has been linked to the efficiency of top-down control processes involved in the voluntary selection of task goals. For example, Mayr and Bell (2006) argued that subjects tend to repeat tasks because the task of the previous trial is still the most active one when selecting a new task. In order to overcome this bias, the activated task has to be inhibited. Thus, selection of tasks would depend on top-down control processes (see also Arrington & Logan, 2004, 2005. However, several studies showed that bottomup processes also contribute to task selection in VTS (e.g. Arrington, 2008) and Mayr and Bell (2006) observed that the task-repetition bias was stronger when the stimulus of the previous trial was repeated compared to when the stimulus alternated. This stimulus-repetition effect suggests that voluntary task selection is not completely immune to bottom-up priming effects....

The Moderating Role of Attachment Styles on the Relationship between Alexithymia and Interpersonal Problems in an Iranian Population

“…The researchers interested in attachment, examined the effects of early experiences and their influence on children's future interactions. These effects were also confirmed in adulthood emotion regulation strategies (e.g., Dewitte, Houwer, Goubert, & Buysse, 2010;Gresham & Gullone, 2012). These studies have shown that individuals with secure attachment reported lower levels of negative emotions and make safer relationships with others.…”

“…Attachment styles influence the emotion regulation strategies (e.g., Dewitte, Houwer, Goubert, & Buysse, 2010;Gresham & Gullone, 2012). People with secure attachment, because of having responsive and sensitive parents to their emotional state in childhood, have learned how to regulate their emotions and to communicate with others (e.g., Bowlby, 1969;Roque & Veríssimo, 2011).…”

Attachment anxiety predicts IL-6 and length of hospital stay in coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) patients

“…Individuals with high levels of anxious attachment amplify stressful experiences and have greater levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, during acute laboratory stress tasks in young adults [4]. Recently, this pattern of cortisol reactivity was replicated in older anxiously attached adults across the day [5].…”

Attachment and health-related physiological stress processes

“…Similarly, anxiously attached married individuals produce higher daily cortisol [30]. In young dating couples, women’s attachment avoidance predicts cortisol patterns as well [27,31]; for example, more avoidant female dating partners evidenced elevated cortisol before and during a conflict discussion with their dating partner followed by a rapid drop in cortisol immediately after the discussion, perhaps providing physiological relief once they were able to disengage from the discussion [27]. …”