The Role of Attachment in the Use of Positive Emotion Regulation After Stress

When faced with stress, individuals lower on the anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions are typically successful emotion regulators, while individuals higher on the anxious or avoidance dimensions are normally poor at emotion regulation. The current study aims to test differences in the ability to use positive emotion regulation between individuals who are high/low on the anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions. Participants saw both funny and unfunny cartoons and rated them based on preference and enjoyment. Then participants were randomly assigned to see more of either the funny or unfunny cartoons at the end of the experiment and then performed mental arithmetic. Finally, participants rested during the recovery period and then saw their assigned cartoons. Throughout the experiment, participants rated their pleasantness and unpleasantness while their physiological reactions were measured. Surprisingly, there was non-hypothesized significant three-way interaction between condition, anxious attachment, and avoidant attachment such that in the neutral condition, individuals higher or lower on either dimension exhibited low unpleasantness while individuals higher on one dimension and lower on the other dimension exhibited high unpleasantness. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of current attachment and emotion regulation theory.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Stroup, Hannah

• Attachment

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/57270

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/57270