Attachment insecurity and perceived importance of relational features

Ren, Dongning; Arriaga, Ximena B.; Mahan, Elizabeth R.

doi:10.1177/0265407516640604

Cited by 18 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…On the other hand, there are also theoretical reasons to expect the intimate experiences to have null or even opposite effects for avoidantly attached individuals (Spielmann, Maxwell, MacDonald, & Baratta, 2013). Specifically, such experiences can elicit defensive reactions from avoidantly attached individuals who prioritize feelings of autonomy and independence over intimacy or trust in relationships (Ren, Arriaga, & Mahan, 2017). For example, avoidantly attached individuals tend to dismiss their partner's intimate signals (e.g., positive emotional expressions; Kafetsios, Andriopoulos, & Papachiou, 2014) and even react in a less relationship-promotive manner if their partner's interdependent behaviors threaten their autonomy (Overall & Sibley, 2009).…”

Section: Attachment Avoidancementioning

confidence: 99%

Saying “thank you”: Partners’ expressions of gratitude protect relationship satisfaction and commitment from the harmful effects of attachment insecurity.

Park¹,

Impett²,

MacDonald³

et al. 2019

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Five studies examined whether receiving gratitude expressions from a romantic partner can buffer insecurely attached individuals from experiencing low relationship satisfaction and commitment. In Study 1, the negative associations between attachment avoidance and both satisfaction and commitment were weaker among individuals who perceived that their partner expressed gratitude more frequently. The same pattern was found with attachment anxiety and satisfaction. Study 2 showed that among individuals who perceived high (vs. low) levels of gratitude expressions from the partner, both attachment dimensions were less strongly related to the belief that the partner is low in communal strength, which, in turn, was associated with greater satisfaction and commitment. In Studies 3-5, we examined whether perceptions or a partner's actual gratitude expression can have benefits on insecurely attached individuals' daily satisfaction. Our results indicated that perceived, rather than a partner's self-reported, gratitude expressions were critical to buffering insecurely attached individuals' daily dissatisfaction. Study 5 also provided evidence for long-term benefits of perceiving a partner's gratitude expressions on avoidantly attached individuals' relationship. Perceiving high levels of a partner's gratitude expressions on average enhanced avoidantly attached individuals' feelings of being cared for by the partner 3 months later, which were associated with greater satisfaction and commitment. Results from our meta-analysis indicated that benefits of perceiving a partner's gratitude expressions may be specific to buffering the negative effects of attachment avoidance on satisfaction. Overall, our findings highlight the powerful function of gratitude in insecurely attached individuals' romantic relationships.

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Section: Attachment Avoidancementioning

confidence: 99%

Saying “thank you”: Partners’ expressions of gratitude protect relationship satisfaction and commitment from the harmful effects of attachment insecurity.

Park¹,

Impett²,

MacDonald³

et al. 2019

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Individuals who chronically experience unreliable or inappropriate caregiving often develop attachment anxiety, characterized by chronic doubts about one’s self-worth and fear of not being loved or valued by others; these individuals yearn for closeness but fear abandonment [ 1 , 14 ]. Individuals who experience generally unresponsive or even hurtful caregiving often develop attachment avoidance, characterized by a general mistrust of others, emotional disengagement, and a desire to maintain independence [ 1 , 15 ].…”

Section: Overview Of Attachment Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mind the Gap: Perceived Partner Responsiveness as a Bridge between General and Partner-Specific Attachment Security

Rice

Kumashiro

Arriaga

2020

IJERPH

Self Cite

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A core idea of attachment theory is that security develops when attachment figures are responsive to a person’s connection needs. Individuals may be more or less secure in different relationships. We hypothesized that individuals who perceive a current relationship partner as being responsive to their needs will feel more secure in that specific relationship, and that the benefits of perceived partner responsiveness would be more pronounced for individuals who generally feel insecure. The current study included 472 individuals (236 couples) in romantic relationships. Consistent with our predictions, individuals who perceived more responsiveness from their partner displayed lower partner-specific attachment anxiety and partner-specific avoidance, especially when they were generally insecure. These findings are discussed in terms of the conditions that promote secure attachment bonds.

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“…However, they differ in their inclination to approach others. A preoccupied (also called anxious) attachment style would orient consumers to overemphasize closeness-related goals, and focus on seeking excessive reassurance from others that the self is desirable and loved (Banai, Mikulincer, & Shaver, 2005;Brennan & Bosson, 1998;Ren, Arriaga, & Mahan, 2017). For example, Nguyen and Munch (2011) found that gift givers' attachment anxiety leads them to experience gift giving as obligated.…”

Section: Insert Figure 1 Herementioning

confidence: 99%

“…They maintain independence, autonomy and invulnerability by seeking distance-related, nonrelational goals and denying their need for belongingness (Ren et al, 2017).…”

Section: Insert Figure 1 Herementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Using attachment theory to understand consumers' tensions between their sense of self and goal-pursuits in relationships

Liu

Hogg

2018

Journal of Business Research

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Consumers face tensions in deciding which goal to pursue, who to be and which self to present in daily life. Yet we know little about these tensions consumers experience as they respond to distinct interpersonal contexts (e.g., perceived support, trust, conflict and sense of belongingness). To this end, we explore the consumption deliberations that consumers undertake for self-presenting when faced with varying interpersonal encounters. We used interview data with women aged 19-62 and Rabinovich and Kacen's (2013) qualitative coding methodology to examine interpersonal patterns of self-presentation. During the data analysis, attachment theory emerged as important in illuminating the tensions participants experienced in pursuing 4 types of goal-pursuit (intimacy, prevention, performance and authenticity) aided by their consumption choices for self-presenting in specific interpersonal contexts. Our findings show intrapsychic and interpersonal influences are not non-interacting entities, but rather need to be studied in conjunction when examining how people create desired social images/identities.

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Attachment insecurity and perceived importance of relational features

Cited by 18 publications

References 41 publications

Saying “thank you”: Partners’ expressions of gratitude protect relationship satisfaction and commitment from the harmful effects of attachment insecurity.

Saying “thank you”: Partners’ expressions of gratitude protect relationship satisfaction and commitment from the harmful effects of attachment insecurity.

Mind the Gap: Perceived Partner Responsiveness as a Bridge between General and Partner-Specific Attachment Security

Using attachment theory to understand consumers' tensions between their sense of self and goal-pursuits in relationships

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