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DOI: 10.1177/0146167204274100 © 2005 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc. Do Automatic Reactions Elicited by Thoughts of Romantic Partner, Mother, and Self Relate to Adult Romantic Attachment?University of Washington, vaza{at}u.washington.edu
University of Washington, yshoda{at}u.washington.edu Three studies tested the expectation that automatic reactions elicited by the mental representation of ones current romantic partner, mother, and self relate to adult romantic attachment. Adult romantic attachment was assessed using multiple measures, and individual differences in automatic reactions were assessed by the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Studies 1 and 2 showed that automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of current romantic partner, but not by thoughts of self, were related to adult romantic attachment assessed at a specific (i.e., within ones current romantic relationship) and general level (i.e., across all romantic relationships). The pattern of results was stronger among individuals identified as attachment-schematic. Studies 2 and 3 showed that automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of ones mother were related to adult romantic attachment assessed at a general level. In all three studies, results did not differ depending on how adult romantic attachment was conceptualized (four styles vs. two dimensions).
Key Words: automatic evaluations automatic associations implicit attitudes adult attachment romantic relationships Implicit Association Test
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