Avoidant attachment attenuates the need-threat for social exclusion but induces the threat for over-inclusion

Summary & key facts

Researchers tested how people’s attachment style (avoidant or anxious) changed their feelings after being left out, included, or overly included in a short online ball-toss game. They used 133 undergraduate students and measured a “Need-Threat” score made from four basic needs: belonging, self‑esteem, control, and meaningful existence. People high in avoidant attachment felt less threat to self‑esteem when excluded (p = 0.02), but they felt more threat to belonging and self‑esteem when they were over‑included (ps < 0.02). Anxious attachment did not change responses in any situation.

Key facts:

• Sample size was 133 undergraduate students who were put into low or high groups for each attachment style.
• The study used a Cyberball task with three conditions: excluded, included, and over‑included.
• Need‑Threat is a combined measure of four needs: belonging, self‑esteem, control, and meaningful existence.
• In the excluded condition, people high in avoidant attachment reported fewer threats to self‑esteem than people low in avoidant attachment (p = 0.02).
• In the over‑included condition, people high in avoidant attachment reported greater threats to belonging and to self‑esteem than people low in avoidant attachment (ps < 0.02).
• Anxious attachment (AX) did not significantly affect Need‑Threat responses in any of the three conditions.

Abstract

The influence of attachment style-anxious (AX) and avoidant (AV) attachment-on subjective responses to socially excluded experiences termed "Need-Threat" remains inconsistent. Need-Threat is a composite score of four fundamental needs: belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. Individuals with high AX tend to spend much effort maintaining strong connections with others, while those with high AV tend to maintain high levels of self-esteem by distancing themselves from others. Therefore, attachment style is most likely to influence the need associated with each style. In addition, since individuals with high AV satisfy their needs by keeping independence from others, they would experience the Need-Threat against excessive inclusion from others. This study aimed to investigate the influence of attachment style on each Need-Threat response to various inclusionary statuses. A total of 133 undergraduate students were equally assigned to low or high groups for each attachment style. Participants played one of the three types of the cyberball task (a ball-tossing game with programmed players): excluded, included, or over-included situation. The high AV group felt fewer threats to self-esteem than the low AV group in the excluded situation (p = 0.02). Furthermore, only in the over-included situation did the high AV group feel more threats to belonging and self-esteem than the low AV group (ps < 0.02). AX did not influence any situation. These findings suggest that individuals with high AV would have a restrictive alleviation effect on adverse subjective responses to socially excluded experiences but demonstrate maladaptive subjective responses to over-included experiences.

Topics

Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Behavioral Health and Interventions Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion

Categories

Psychology Social Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Archaeology Attachment theory Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Developmental psychology Disease Distancing History Infectious disease (medical specialty) Medicine Ostracism Pathology Psychology Social psychology Style (visual arts)

Conditions & symptoms

Feeling disconnected from others