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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
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0146167207310024v1
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Article

Avoiding Interference: Adult Attachment and Emotional Processing Biases

Robin S. Edelstein1* and Omri Gillath2

1 University of Michigan
2 University of Kansas

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: redelste{at}umich.edu.


  Abstract
The present study investigated attachment-related differences in emotional processing biases. Consistent with the proposal that avoidant individuals limit attention to potentially distressing information, attachment avoidance was associated with reductions in emotional Stroop (ES) interference for attachment-related words (e.g., intimate, loss). These biases were strongest among individuals who were currently in a romantic relationship, suggesting that being in a close relationship may activate avoidant defensive strategies. In addition, avoidant attentional biases were attenuated under cognitive load, suggesting that inhibiting attention to attachment-related information requires cognitive effort. Finally, avoidance was unrelated to ES performance for emotional, nonattachment-related words, demonstrating the specificity of these attentional biases. The present findings suggest that avoidant individuals can inhibit attention to potentially threatening information, that this ability requires cognitive effort, and that relationship status may be an important moderator of avoidant defensive strategies. The implications of these strategies for emotional functioning and well-being are discussed.

First published on December 6, 2007, doi:10.1177/0146167207310024

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 2008;34:171.

A more recent version of this article appeared on February 1, 2008

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