So far away from one's partner, yet so close to romantic alternatives: Avoidant attachment, interest in alternatives, and infidelity.

Abstract

Temptation pervades modern social life, including the temptation to engage in infidelity. The present investigation examines one factor that may put individuals at a greater risk of being unfaithful to their partner: dispositional avoidant attachment style. The authors hypothesize that avoidantly attached people may be less resistant to temptations for infidelity due to lower levels of commitment in romantic relationships. This hypothesis was confirmed in 8 studies. People with high, vs. low, levels of dispositional avoidant attachment had more permissive attitudes toward infidelity (Study 1), showed attentional bias toward attractive alternative partners (Study 2), expressed greater daily interest in meeting alternatives to their current relationship partner (Study 5), perceived alternatives to their current relationship partner more positively (Study 6), and engaged in more infidelity over time (Studies 3, 4, 7, and 8). This effect was mediated by lower levels of commitment (Studies 5-8). Thus, avoidant attachment predicted a broad spectrum of responses indicative of interest in alternatives and propensity to engage in infidelity, which were mediated by low levels of commitment.

The Role of Internet Pornography Use and Cyber Infidelity in the Associations between Personality, Attachment, and Couple and Sexual Satisfaction

“…Regarding the indirect relationship between anxiety and couple and sexual satisfaction via cyber infidelity, several studies focusing on in-person infidelity have already shown that these two variables are related [32] [40] [41] [42]. The results of the present study suggest that the activation of the attachment system is associated with a desire for virtual emotional and sexual experiences, which satisfy anxious individuals' need for love.…”

“…Individuals with attachment insecurity are more inclined to seek out extradyadic sexual encounters [32] [40] [41] [42]. This is especially true for those with extreme attachment-related anxiety [43] [44] [45].…”

Warmth, spatial proximity, and social attachment: The embodied perception of a social metaphor

“…Thus, we expected that people low in avoidance would perceive a warm object as spatially close and to respond with increases in affiliative motivation. People with avoidant attachment styles, in contrast, shy away from intimacy and psychologically distance themselves from others (DeWall et al, 2011;Tidwell, Reis, & Shaver, 1996). Thus, we did not expect physical warmth to increase perceptions of spatial proximity for individuals high in avoidance.…”

Best research practices in psychology: Illustrating epistemological and pragmatic considerations with the case of relationship science.

“…Doing so allows them to publish the initial finding in conjunction with one or more replications (e.g., DeWall et al, 2011;Finkel et al, 2012). To date, scholars have typically used this strategy to publish conceptual rather than close replications (but see Mikulincer, Shaver, Gillath, & Nitzberg, 2005).…”