Felt Security in Daily Interactions as a Mediator of the Effect of Attachment on Relationship Satisfaction†Some of the Results Reported in this Article Were Previously Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research in Montreal, Canada (May 2012)

A narrative review of mechanisms linking romantic relationship experiences to sleep quality

Although a significant body of research has revealed associations between romantic relationship experiences and sleep quality, there has not been clarity regarding the mechanisms underlying such associations. Toward this end, we review the existing studies that have tested mechanisms linking romantic relationship experiences to sleep quality. Guided by both theory and existing research, we organize our review around five key categories of mechanisms that may explain associations between romantic relationship experiences and sleep quality: emotional/affective responses, self-perceptions, social perceptions, self-regulation, and biological functioning. Our review of the literature indicates strong evidence in support of the mediating effects of emotional/affective mechanisms (e.g. emotions and mood states) in explaining associations between various aspects of romantic relationships (e.g. relationship satisfaction, partner conflicts, and attachment orientation) and sleep quality. Although there is ample theoretical support for the other mechanisms proposed, and although all proposed mechanisms have been separately linked to both romantic relationship experiences and sleep quality, few studies have directly tested them, pointing to profitable directions for future research. Understanding underlying mechanisms will enable the development of wise, process-based interventions that target specific mechanisms to improve couple members' sleep quality and romantic relationship functioning.

Enhancing EEG-based attachment style prediction: unveiling the impact of feature domains

Introduction

Attachment styles are crucial in human relationships and have been explored through neurophysiological responses and EEG data analysis. This study investigates the potential of EEG data in predicting and differentiating secure and insecure attachment styles, contributing to the understanding of the neural basis of interpersonal dynamics.

Methods

We engaged 27 participants in our study, employing an XGBoost classifier to analyze EEG data across various feature domains, including time-domain, complexity-based, and frequency-based attributes.

Results

The study found significant differences in the precision of attachment style prediction: a high precision rate of 96.18% for predicting insecure attachment, and a lower precision of 55.34% for secure attachment. Balanced accuracy metrics indicated an overall model accuracy of approximately 84.14%, taking into account dataset imbalances.

Discussion

These results highlight the challenges in using EEG patterns for attachment style prediction due to the complex nature of attachment insecurities. Individuals with heightened perceived insecurity predominantly aligned with the insecure attachment category, suggesting a link to their increased emotional reactivity and sensitivity to social cues. The study underscores the importance of time-domain features in prediction accuracy, followed by complexity-based features, while noting the lesser impact of frequency-based features. Our findings advance the understanding of the neural correlates of attachment and pave the way for future research, including expanding demographic diversity and integrating multimodal data to refine predictive models.

Dynamics of attachment and emotion regulation in daily life: uni- and bidirectional associations

Attachment theory proposes that the activation of the attachment system enacts emotion regulation (ER) to maintain security or cope with insecurity. However, the effects of ER on attachment states and their bidirectional influences remain poorly understood. In this ecological momentary assessment study, we examined the dynamics between attachment and ER. We hypothesised that attachment states and ER influence each other through time. Specifically, we hypothesised bidirectional short-term cycles between state attachment security and reappraisal, state attachment anxiety and rumination, and state attachment avoidance and suppression. We also tested how trait attachment is related to state attachment and ER. One hundred twenty-two participants (M_age = 26.4) completed the Experiences in Close Relationship-Revised and reported state attachment and ER seven times daily for seven days. The results were only partly consistent with our cycle hypotheses yet revealed a cycle between low state attachment security and rumination that was attenuated by reappraisal. Moreover, rumination and suppression predicted increased insecure states, and reappraisal predicted increased secure and insecure states. Finally, trait attachment showed associations with state attachment and ER. Our study suggests regulatory dynamics between attachment and ER and opens important questions about their functional relationship in maintaining attachment-related behavioural patterns and emotional well-being.

Variation in the μ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) and experiences of felt security in response to a romantic partner's quarrelsome behavior

Research suggests that endogenous opioids play a key role in the creation and maintenance of attachment bonds. Opioids acting at the μ-opioid receptor mediate reward and analgesia and are thus thought to underlie feelings of comfort and warmth experienced in the presence of close others. Disruption of μ-opioidergic activity increases separation distress in animals, suggesting that low opioid states may contribute to social pain. Accordingly, a functional μ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) polymorphism (C77G in primates, A118G in humans) affecting opioidergic signaling has been associated with separation distress and attachment behavior in nonhuman primates, and social pain sensitivity in humans. However, no research has examined the effects of this polymorphism on socioemotional experience, and specifically felt security, in daily interactions between romantic partners. Using an event-contingent recording method, members of 92 cohabiting romantic couples reported their felt security and quarrelsome behavior in daily interactions with each other for 20 days. Consistent with prior work, findings suggested that, relative to AA homozygotes, G allele carriers were more sensitive to their partners' self-reported quarrelsome behaviors (e.g., criticism), showing a greater decline in felt security when their partners reported higher quarrelsome behavior than usual. This is the first study to link variation in OPRM1 with felt security toward romantic partners in everyday social interactions. More generally, this research supports the theory that the attachment system incorporated evolutionarily primitive pain-regulating opioidergic pathways. We also discuss implications of this work for understanding of differential vulnerability to health risks posed by social stress.

Within-Person Associations Between Attachment Security, Need Satisfaction and Psychological Adjustment in Daily Life of Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Little is known about how attachment processes manifest within older adults in daily life and how these processes are associated with daily psychological adjustment. This study examined the within-person associations between states of attachment security and psychological adjustment. It is expected that this association is mediated by higher levels of satisfied needs in daily life.

METHODS

Microlongitudinal self-report data were collected in a sample of 136 older adults ranged in age from 60 to 90 years (ageM = 70.45 years) across 10 days with daily morning and afternoon measurement occasions.

RESULTS

Three main findings from multilevel analyses emerged. First, older adults showed significant within-person variation in attachment security, satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and competence, and psychological adjustment over time. Second, attachment security was positively associated with psychological adjustment within individuals. Third, both satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and competence mediated the within-person association between attachment security and psychological adjustment.

DISCUSSION

The results suggest that attachment security is associated with the experience of autonomy and competence in daily life of older adults which in turn is related with better psychological adjustment.

CD38 is associated with communal behavior, partner perceptions, affect and relationship adjustment in romantic relationships

Given the significance of close relationships for human survival, it is thought that biological mechanisms evolved to support their initiation and maintenance. The neuropeptide oxytocin is one such candidate identified in non-human animal research. We investigated whether variation in CD38, a gene involved in oxytocin secretion and attachment behavior in rodents, predicts romantic relationship dynamics in daily life. Community couples participated in an event-contingent recording (ECR) study in which they reported their social behavior, perception of their partner's behavior, and affect during their interactions with one another over a 20-day period; couples also completed various measures of relationship adjustment. Out of the 111 couples (N = 222 individuals) who provided either ECR and/or relationship adjustment information, we had information on CD38 for 118 individuals. As hypothesized, variation in rs3796863, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) identified in prior work, predicted communal behaviors (e.g., the expression of affection), as well as overall relationship adjustment, such that individuals with the CC (vs. AC/AA) allele reported higher levels of communal behavior across their daily interactions with their romantic partner, as well as higher levels of relationship adjustment. Individuals with the CC (vs. AC/AA) allele of rs3796863 also reported less negative affect and felt insecurity in their interactions with their romantic partner. Notably, we found that variation in the romantic partner's rs3796863 SNP was related to the person's outcomes, independent of the person's rs3796863 genotype. These findings support the role of oxytocin in the interpersonal processes implicated in the maintenance of close relationships.

From Motive Dispositions to States to Outcomes: An Intensive Experience Sampling Study on Communal Motivational Dynamics in Couples

Embedded in a theoretically founded process model (termed Dynamics of Motive Satisfaction, ‘DynaMoS’), the present study examined the links between the implicit dispositional communion motive, everyday motivational dynamics, and relationship outcomes in couples. Within–subject processes are proposed to explain between–subject associations of dispositional motives and relationship satisfaction. For an empirical test of the model, data on the dispositional partner–related need for communion and global relationship satisfaction were obtained from 152 individuals in heterosexual relationships. In an extensive experience sampling spanning 2 weeks, a subsample of 130 individuals answered questions about their current motivational states, mood, state relationship satisfaction, and experiences with their partner five times a day. The results were largely consistent with the DynaMoS model: (1) individuals with a strong dispositional implicit communion motive reported more often to be in a communal motivational state; (2) communally motivated individuals were more likely to engage in subsequent instrumental behaviour; and (3) relationship experiences that potentially satisfy communion motivation led to more positive relationship outcomes when individuals were motivated before compared with when they were not. It is discussed how these results and the experience sampling method can foster our understanding of how dispositional characteristics translate into everyday processes and shape relationship outcomes. Copyright © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology

What's interpersonal in interpersonal perception? The role of target's attachment in the accuracy of perception

OBJECTIVE

We examined the influence of attachment orientation on the accuracy of perception of negative affect in close relationships. We hypothesized that tracking accuracy of perceiving negative affect (a) would be lower among perceivers and targets with higher attachment avoidance and (b) would be lowest when both the target and perceiver were high on attachment avoidance. Tracking accuracy would be (c) higher among perceivers and targets with higher attachment anxiety and (d) highest when both the target and perceiver were high on attachment anxiety.

METHOD

We collected data from 92 couples who reported their negative affect and perception of their partner's negative affect in interactions with each other on 20 days.

RESULTS

Results supported the hypotheses for attachment avoidance and tracking accuracy. Tracking accuracy of perceived negative affect was low when the target was high on attachment avoidance; accuracy was lowest when both the target and the perceiver were high on attachment avoidance.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower "readability" of high avoidantly attached targets' emotions may inhibit intimacy and sensitive responding, which thereby may contribute to poor relationship outcomes.

Toward a Shared Understanding of Important Consequences of Personality

The assumption that personality makes a difference in people's everyday lives is probably the main reason why investigating personality seems worthwhile at all. Although the number of empirical studies addressing the everyday consequences of personality is considerable, an overarching conceptual framework is missing. We present such a framework, using a version of the SORKC model from cognitive-behavioral therapy. Our version of the model incorporates a full account of how personality may influence the ways in which people perceive and respond to situations, which may ultimately have important consequences for them and others. However, not everything that formally qualifies as a consequence of personality is equally relevant. In choosing criterion variables for their own research, researchers interested in personality consequences seem to have strongly relied on implicit assumptions regarding a “good life.” We review a sample of recent studies from the personality literature, using our own conceptualization of important personality consequences to assess the current state of the field, and deduce recommendations for future research.

The Social Consequences of Personality: Six Suggestions for Future Research

Historically, personality psychology has not focused on the social realm, and social psychology has mostly neglected the influence of individual differences. This has, however, begun to change in the past two decades. Recent years have brought an explosion in creative research programmes on the social consequences of personality. In this paper, we offer a (highly subjective) view on how research on the social consequences of personality should move forward. We note that the existing literature is focused heavily on: traits (at the expense of other personality characteristics), a narrow set of social outcomes (e.g. romantic relationship satisfaction) and effects of personality on one's own outcomes (rather than taking a dyadic/interpersonal perspective). In addition, little attention has been paid to the complex dynamic processes that might account for the links between personality and social outcomes. Based on this, we outline six suggestions for future research on the social consequences of personality: (1) examine a wide range of personality variables and integrate findings across domains; (2) take a broader and more integrative view on social outcomes, including different relationship types, phases and transitions; (3) analyse personality effects on social outcomes from different social perspectives (e.g. self, other and dyad); (4) search for processes that explain the associations between personality and social outcomes; (5) collect rich, multi–method, longitudinal, behavioural datasets with large samples and (6) carefully evaluate the implications of personality effects on social outcomes. We invite researchers to embrace a more collaborative and slower scientific approach to answer the many open questions about the social consequences of personality. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

Explaining the Link between Personality and Relationship Satisfaction: Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Behaviour in Conflict Discussions

Past research has shown that personality traits predict relationship quality in romantic couples. However, very little research has investigated psychological processes that underlie the link between personality and relationship satisfaction. The present study focused on the mediating role of spontaneous emotion regulation and positive interpersonal behaviour. This study applied a dyadic design with 137 couples who completed self–report questionnaires assessing Big Five personality traits at baseline. Subsequently, couples were asked to discuss a current relationship conflict during a laboratory session. Emotion regulation and relationship satisfaction were assessed via self–report directly after the discussion. Relationship satisfaction was additionally assessed at 6–month follow–up. Interpersonal behaviour during the conflict discussion was videotaped and coded by independent raters. As expected, emotion regulation (expressive suppression, perspective taking and aggressive externalisation), positive interpersonal behaviour and state relationship satisfaction during the conflict discussion mediated the relation between personality and long–term relationship satisfaction. In sum, this study provides evidence that personality is linked to relationship satisfaction through intrapersonal and interpersonal processes during social interactions. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

Lab And/Or Field? Measuring Personality Processes and Their Social Consequences

How can researchers study personality processes and their social consequences? In our methodology overview, we first introduce ambulatory assessment methods, which repeatedly measure experiences, physiology and behaviour in people's daily lives based on real–time assessments of self–reports, physiological activity and behavioural observations. Then, we describe methods suitable for assessing personality processes in laboratory settings: self–reports on interpersonal perception, physiological measurements and behavioural observation. We discuss the combination of field and laboratory assessment methods based on their respective strengths and limitations and then highlight ethical issues surrounding the use of these methods. Finally, we propose future avenues for how developments in mobile technology can be used to advance personality research. The increasing availability and the decreasing costs of smartphones, wearable sensors and Internet connectivity offer unique potentials for further understanding the processes underlying how personality exerts broad and important social consequences. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

The Dynamics of Self–Esteem in Partner Relationships

Previous research on the role of self–esteem in partner relationships indicates that it is both predictive of and predicted by variables such as relationship satisfaction. However, most of these studies were constrained to only relationship satisfaction, cross–sectional or individual data. In the present study, we examine the dynamic interplay between self–esteem and both broad (i.e. relationship satisfaction) and specific aspects of relationship quality (independence and connectedness) reflecting the fulfilment of agentic and communal needs in stable partner relationships from both an intrapersonal perspective and an interpersonal perspective. Study 1 assessed 186 individuals at three measurement occasions over 15 years and suggests a common developmental dynamic between self–esteem and relationship satisfaction, as indicated by initial correlations and correlated changes. In Study 2, actor and partner effects in stable couples ( N = 2124 dyads) were examined over a period of three years. It was found that self–esteem and all three aspects of relationship quality are dynamically intertwined in such a way that both previous levels and changes in one domain predict later changes in the other domain. Together, the findings indicate that self–esteem is consequential for the development of a variety of relationship aspects but likewise influenced by these very aspects. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

Why Not Everyone Gets Their Fair Share of Stress: Adolescent'S Perceived Relationship Affection Mediates Associations between Temperament and Subsequent Stressful Social Events

Temperamental differences are associated with subsequent stressful life events, a phenomenon that has in part been attributed to evocation. However, we remain ignorant about the mechanisms that mediate this process. In the current paper, we test whether differences in ‘perceived relationship affection’ accounted for part of the prospective association between temperament and stressful social event evocation in three social domains, viz. parents, peers and romantic partners. Data were derived from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey, a large population cohort of Dutch adolescents ( n = 1158). Parent–reported adolescent temperament and adolescent's perceived affection were assessed at age 11 years. Stressful social events that occurred between age 11 and 16 years were captured using the event history calendar. Results indicate that adolescents evoke subsequent stressful social events based on their temperament, and that this association is partially mediated by perceived affection. Importantly, we found evidence for both generic and domain–specific associations, which indicates that social domains are related yet distinct. Taken together, the findings suggest that a search for mediating variables may be a promising way to increase our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the social stress selection principle, and that perceived relationship affection is one of the candidates. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology