Attachment state of mind and perceptual processing of emotional stimuli

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment state of mind and perceptual processing of social and non-social, affective, and neutral material. A total of 57 young adults completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) plus an experimental task in which their perceptual thresho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Attachment & human development 2005-03, Vol.7 (1), p.67-81
Main Authors: Maier, Markus A, Bernier, Annie, Pekrun, Reinhard, Zimmermann, Peter, Strasser, Karin, Grossmann, Klaus E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affectivity. Emotion
Attachment state of mind
Biological and medical sciences
Conditioning, Operant
Emotions
Facial Expression
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
Mental Processes
Perception
perceptual defense
perceptual vigilance
Personality. Affectivity
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social Perception
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Summary:This study aimed to investigate the relationship between attachment state of mind and perceptual processing of social and non-social, affective, and neutral material. A total of 57 young adults completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) plus an experimental task in which their perceptual thresholds to different types of pictures were assessed. Significant correlations were found between the AAI dimensions and perceptual thresholds for social stimuli such as social interactions or human faces displaying emotional expressions. As expected, no relationships were found between the AAI and perception of neutral stimuli. The pattern of correlations was especially clear for the dismissing dimension. The results suggest that higher vigilance to social stimuli is related to dismissing attachment tendencies and, to a milder degree, to preoccupied tendencies.
ISSN:1461-6734
1469-2988
DOI:10.1080/14616730500039606