Attachment theory and group processes: the association between attachment style and group-related representations, goals, memories, and functioning.

Four studies examined attachment-style differences in group-related cognitions and behaviors. In Studies 1-2, participants completed scales on group-related cognitions and emotions. In Studies 3-4, participants were divided into small groups, and their performance in group tasks as well as the cohesion of their group were assessed. Both attachment anxiety and avoidance in close relationships were associated with negative group-related cognitions and emotions. Anxiety was also related to the pursuit of closeness goals and impaired instrumental performance in group tasks. Avoidance was related to the pursuit of distance goals and deficits in socioemotional and instrumental performance. Group cohesion significantly moderated the effects of attachment anxiety. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of attachment theory within group contexts.

[1]  Jay Belsky,et al.  Clinical implications of attachment , 1988 .

[2]  L. F. Barrett,et al.  Working models of attachment and daily social interactions. , 1997, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[3]  Andrew J. DuBrin,et al.  6 – Small Group Behavior , 1977 .

[4]  B. Fehr,et al.  Social-cognitive conceptualization of attachment working models : Availability and accessibility effects , 1996 .

[5]  M. Mikulincer,et al.  Exploring individual differences in reactions to mortality salience: does attachment style regulate terror management mechanisms? , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[6]  K. Bartholomew,et al.  Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[7]  H. Tajfel.  Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations , 1982 .

[8]  Joseph P. Stokes,et al.  Components of Group Cohesion , 1983 .

[9]  J. Lydon,et al.  Priming relational schemas: effects of contextually activated and chronically accessible interpersonal expectations on responses to a stressful event. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[10]  J. Sinacore.  Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions , 1993 .

[11]  N. Collins,et al.  INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND GROUP PROCESSES A Safe Haven: An Attachment Theory Perspective on Support Seeking and Caregiving in Intimate Relationships , 2004 .

[12]  L. B. Rosenfeld,et al.  The Measurement of Cohesion and its Relationship to Dimensions of Self-Disclosure in Classroom Settings , 1989 .

[13]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The statistical analysis of data from small groups. , 2002, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[14]  P. Shaver,et al.  Adult attachment and the suppression of unwanted thoughts. , 1997, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[15]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[16]  J. Simpson,et al.  Attachment theory and close relationships. , 1998 .

[17]  M. Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment styles and repressive defensiveness: the accessibility and architecture of affective memories. , 1995, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[18]  J. Fleiss,et al.  Intraclass correlations: uses in assessing rater reliability. , 1979, Psychological bulletin.

[19]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[20]  A. Tesser,et al.  Advanced social psychology , 1995 .

[21]  D. Griffin,et al.  Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment. , 1994 .

[22]  K. Davis,et al.  Attachment formation and transfer in young adults’close friendships and romantic relationships , 1997 .

[23]  S. Folkman,et al.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology If It Changes It Must Be a Process: Study of Emotion and Coping during Three Stages of a College Examination , 2022 .

[24]  P. Bliese.  Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. , 2000 .

[25]  Mario Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment style and the mental representation of the self. , 1995 .

[26]  C. Hazan,et al.  Sex and the psychological tether. , 1994 .

[27]  C. M. Parkes,et al.  Attachment Across the Life Cycle , 1991 .

[28]  M. Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment working models and cognitive openness in close relationships: A test of chronic and temporary accessibility effects. , 1999 .

[29]  N. Collins,et al.  Working models of attachment: implications for explanation, emotion and behavior. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[30]  Dennis J. Devine,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Cohesion and Performance , 1995 .

[31]  Phillip R. Shaver,et al.  Handbook of attachment : theory, research, and clinical applications , 1999 .

[32]  J. Gillon,et al.  Group dynamics , 1996 .

[33]  D. Perlman,et al.  Attachment processes in adulthood , 1994 .

[34]  S. West,et al.  Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. , 1994 .

[35]  C. R. Evans,et al.  Group Cohesion and Performance , 1991 .

[36]  G. W. Rever.  Attachment and Loss. Vol. 1. Attachment , 1972 .

[37]  M. D. Dunnette.  Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2005 .

[38]  John Bowlby,et al.  Separation: Anxiety and Anger , 1973 .

[39]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  Separating individual and group effects , 1985 .

[40]  Marie-Cecile O. Tidwell,et al.  Attachment, attractiveness, and social interaction: a diary study. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[41]  Mario Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment styles and fear of personal death: A case study of affect regulation. , 1990 .

[42]  Eliot R. Smith,et al.  Attachment to groups: theory and measurement. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[43]  M. Mikulincer,et al.  The relationship between adult attachment styles and emotional and cognitive reactions to stressful events. , 1998 .

[44]  Judi Beinstein Miller.  Attachment Style and Memory for Attachment-Related Events , 1999 .

[45]  Steven J. Karau,et al.  The effects of group cohesiveness on social loafing and social compensation. , 1997 .

[46]  Mary D. Salter Ainsworth,et al.  Attachments and other affectional bonds across the life cycle , 1991 .

[47]  J. Levine,et al.  Progress in Small Group Research , 1990 .

[48]  Michael A. Hogg,et al.  The Social Psychology of Group Cohesiveness: From Attraction to Social Identity , 1992 .

[49]  J. Bowlby.  Attachment and loss: retrospect and prospect. , 1969, The American journal of orthopsychiatry.

[50]  Jude Cassidy,et al.  Avoidance and its relation to other defensive processes. , 1988 .

[51]  H. E. Cole,et al.  Attachment and emotion regulation during mother-teen problem solving: a control theory analysis. , 1993, Child development.

[52]  Social psychology and intergroup relations: Cross‐cultural perspectives , 1985 .

[53]  J. Dovidio,et al.  Stereotypes and evaluative intergroup bias. , 1993 .

[54]  G. Stewart,et al.  Composition, process, and performance in self-managed groups: the role of personality. , 1997, The Journal of applied psychology.

[55]  J. Hackman.  Group influences on individuals in organizations. , 1992 .

[56]  E. Deci,et al.  Within-person variation in security of attachment: a self-determination theory perspective on attachment, need fulfillment, and well-being. , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[57]  Garth J. O. Fletcher,et al.  Blackwell handbook in social psychology: Interpersonal processes. , 2002 .

[58]  S. Kozlowski,et al.  Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations: Foundations, Extensions, and New Directions , 2000 .

[59]  M. Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment theory and reactions to others' needs:' evidence that activation of the sense of attachment security promotes empathic responses. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[60]  B. Mullen,et al.  The relation between group cohesiveness and performance: An integration. , 1994 .

[61]  Mario Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment styles and patterns of self-disclosure. , 1991 .

[62]  C. Hazan,et al.  Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[63]  Donelson R. Forsyth,et al.  Group dynamics, 2nd ed. , 1990 .

[64]  Mario Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment-related psychodynamics , 2002, Attachment & human development.

[65]  J. Lydon,et al.  Global and specific relational models in the experience of social interactions. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[66]  R. Chris Fraley,et al.  Adult Romantic Attachment: Theoretical Developments, Emerging Controversies, and Unanswered Questions , 2000 .

[67]  R. Mann.  A review of the relationships between personality and performance in small groups. , 1959 .

[68]  Mario Mikulincer,et al.  Attachment working models and the sense of trust : An exploration of interaction goals and affect regulation , 1998 .

[69]  Kelly A. Brennan,et al.  Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. , 1998 .

[70]  Judith A. Feeney,et al.  Adult romantic attachment and couple relationships , 1999 .

[71]  P. Shaver,et al.  Attachment theory and intergroup bias: evidence that priming the secure base schema attenuates negative reactions to out-groups. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[72]  P. Shaver,et al.  Adult attachment and the defensive regulation of attention and memory: examining the role of preemptive and postemptive defensive processes. , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[73]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  Consequences of violating the independence assumption in analysis of variance. , 1986 .