Adult attachment style and partner choice: Correlational and experimental findings

Abstract

Three studies were conducted to assess the role of attachment style in partner selection using both correlational and experimental methods. Study 1 (n = 83 couples) assessed correlations between partner ratings on attachment‐style dimensions and the relations between own and partner attachment style and relationship satisfaction. In Study 2 (n = 226) and Study 3 (n = 146), participants who varied in terms of attachment style rated the desirability of potential partners who also differed in terms of attachment style. Results of all three studies generally suggested that individuals were most attracted to partners with similar attachment styles. For example, anxious individuals tended to be dating anxious partners in Study 1, and they preferred anxious partners over secure and avoidant partners in Studies 2 and 3 (combined data). Thus, not all individuals preferred secure partners. Second, unlike previous studies that looked primarily at partner correlations, there was no evidence of anxious/avoidant matching. In fact, anxious individuals seemed particularly averse to avoidant partners. Finally, ratings of parental caregiving styles (especially ratings of mothers) were associated with adult attachment dimensions and partner choices. For example, individuals who rated their mothers as more cold and ambivalent were less attracted to secure partners. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Contextual and Procedural Determinants of Partner Selection: Of Asymmetric Dominance and Prominence

“…Attachment theory (Hazan & Shaver, 1994) postulates three types of attachment styles: secure, anxious/ambivalent, and anxious/avoidant. Research has shown that individuals prefer partners with an attachment style similar to theirs (Frazier et al, 1996;Pietromonaco & Carnelley, 1994), although recent evidence points to a general preference for securely attached partners (Chappell & Davis, 1998). From a need-based perspective, partner selection satisfies psycho-logical needs, such as the need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995), the need for intimacy (Reis & Shaver, 1988), the need for positive affect maintenance (Sedikides, Oliver, & Campbell, 1994), or the need to expand the self (A. Aron & E. Aron, 1997).…”

Adult Romantic Attachment: Theoretical Developments, Emerging Controversies, and Unanswered Questions

“…For example, researchers have examined the influence of working models on the inferences people make about their partner's intentions (Collins, 1996); the interplay of distress and working models as determinants of attachment and caregiving behavior Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992); the role of working models in partner preferences (Chappell & Davis, 1998;Frazier, Byer, Fischer, Wright, & DeBord, 1996;Pietromonaco & Carnelley, 1994), relationship stability Kirkpatrick & Hazan, 1994), and relationship dissolution (Feeney & Noller, 1992;Pistole, 1995;Simpson, 1990); and the psychodynamic organization and functioning of working models (Bartholomew, 1990;Fraley, Davis, & Shaver, 1998;Fraley & Shaver, 1997;Mikulincer, 1998;Mikulincer, Florian, & Tolmacz, 1990;Mikulincer & Orbach, 1995).…”

Ideological Fit Enhances Interpersonal Orientations

“…Indeed, there is some evidence that individuals seek out relationships that confirm their existing beliefs about other people (Frazier, Byer, Fischer, Wright, & DeBord, 1996). However, with respect to residential mobility, this explanation seems unlikely as political mismatching most often predicts mobility away from a politically dissimilar environment and toward politically similar environments (McDonald, 2011;Motyl, 2014;Motyl et al, 2014;Tam Cho et al, 2013).…”