827 research outputs found
Repeated priming of attachment security influences immediate and later views of self and relationships
No full textResearch shows that priming attachment security results in positive relationship expectations and affect (Rowe & Carnelley, 2003). We examined whether repetitive priming of attachment security (e.g., experimentally activating cognitive representations of attachment security) would have more lasting effects on relationship- and self-views. Participants provided baseline measures at Time 1. On 3 occasions (across 3 days), we primed participants with attachment security or a neutral prime (Times 2–4). Two days later (Time 5), participants completed trait-level measures not preceded by a prime. As expected, those repeatedly primed with attachment security reported more positive relationship expectations, more positive self-views, and less attachment anxiety at Time 5 than at Time 1; those primed with neutral primes showed no change with time. These priming effects last longer than those typically found
Texting "boosts" felt security
No full textAttachment security can be induced in laboratory settings (e.g., Rowe & Carnelley, 2003) and the beneficial effects of repeated security priming can last for a number ofdays (e.g., Carnelley & Rowe, 2007). The priming process, however, can be costly in terms of time. We explored the effectiveness of security priming via text message.Participants completed a visualisation task (a secure attachment experience or neutral experience) in the laboratory. On three consecutive days following the laboratory task, participants received (secure or neutral) text message visualisation tasks. Participants inthe secure condition reported significantly higher felt security than those in the neutral condition, immediately after the laboratory prime, after the last text message prime and one day after the last text prime. These findings suggest that security priming via text messages is an innovative methodological advancement that effectively induces felt security, representing a potential direction forward for security priming research
Preliminary support for the use of a hierarchical mapping technique to examine attachment networks
No full textIn 2 studies, we investigated the validity and usefulness of a bull's eye hierarchical mapping measure to examine the content and structure of attachment networks. The bull's eye identified network differences between people of different attachment styles and between different ages. Attachment networks varied in the number of members and their hierarchical organization as a function of attachment style. Secure individuals included a higher number of secure relationships in their networks and placed them closer to the core self than their insecure relationships, as well as closer than did dismissing-avoidant individuals. The bull's eye also allowed for the observation of meaningful interrelations between network members. Study 2 utilized a cross-sectional design by which we observed network fluidity from mid- to late-adolescence in addition to attachment style differences. One important finding was that late-adolescents placed their friends closer to the core self than did midadolescents, reflecting increased use of peers as close attachment figures
Priming a sense of security: what goes through people’s minds?
No full textThere is a growing literature charting the positive personaland interpersonal effects of security priming. Security primesenhance self- and relationship views, and even evaluationsof outgroups, relative to control primes. We examine howsecurity priming is experienced by individuals and how itseffects differ from those produced by other positive affect andrelationship-related primes. We analyze the written protocolsproduced by individuals in different priming conditions forfrequency of felt security, care, merging, agency, communion,and nostalgia words. Security priming led to thoughts relatedto felt security, positive care, a sense of merging with another,positive emotion, and communion; furthermore, the effectsof security priming could be distinguished from the effects ofpositive affect and other relationship-related primes. We discussseveral directions for future research
The effectiveness of attachment security priming in improving positive affect and reducing negative affect: a systematic review
No full textAttachment security priming has been extensively used in relationship research to explore the contents of mental models of attachment and examine the benefits derived from enhancing security. This systematic review explores the effectiveness of attachment security priming in improving positive affect and reducing negative affect in adults and children. The review searched four electronic databases for peer reviewed journal articles. Thirty empirical studies met our inclusion criteria, including 28 adult and 2 child and adolescent samples. The findings show that attachment security priming improved positive affect and reduced negative affect relative to control primes. Supraliminal and subliminal primes were equally effective in enhancing security in one-shot prime studies (we only reviewed repeated priming studies using supraliminal primes so could not compare prime types in these). Global attachment style moderated the primed style in approximately half of the studies. Importantly, repeated priming studies showed a cumulative positive effect of security priming over time. We conclude that repeated priming study designs may be the most effective. More research is needed that explores the use of attachment security priming as a possible intervention to improve emotional wellbeing, in particular for adolescents and children
The role of Plasmodium falciparum var genes in malaria in pregnancy
No full textSequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in the placenta is responsible for many of the harmful effects of malaria during pregnancy. Sequestration occurs as a result of parasite adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes binding to host receptors in the placenta such as chondroitin sulphate A (CSA). Identification of the parasite ligand(s) responsible for placental adhesion could lead to the development of a vaccine to induce antibodies to prevent placental sequestration. Such a vaccine would reduce the maternal anaemia and infant deaths that are associated with malaria in pregnancy. Current research indicates that the parasite ligands mediating placental adhesion may be members of the P. falciparum variant surface antigen family PfEMP1, encoded by var genes. Two relatively well-conserved subfamilies of var genes have been implicated in placental adhesion, however, their role remains controversial. This review examines the evidence for and against the involvement of var genes in placental adhesion, and considers whether the most appropriate vaccine candidates have yet been identified
The effects of attachment priming on depressed and anxious mood
No full textCorrelational evidence links attachment insecurity (attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) to depression and anxiety, but the causal directions of these relationships remain unspecified. Our aim (Study 1, N = 144) was to prime attachment anxiety and avoidance and test causal relationships between these attachment patterns and depressed and anxious mood. Attachment anxious-primed participants reported higher depressed mood than secure-primed participants. Furthermore, avoidant-primed and anxious-primed participants reported higher anxious mood compared with secure-primed participants. In Study 2 (N = 81) we tested the effectiveness of repeatedly priming attachment security (versus a neutral prime), in the laboratory and via texts, on improving depressed and anxious mood. Secure-primed (compared with neutral-primed) participants reported less anxious mood postprime and one day later. Repeated secure-primed (compared with neutral) participants reported marginally less depressed mood postprime and one day later. Discussion considers possible clinical implications for repeated security priming
Attachment security priming: Increasing felt security in adolescents with social, emotional and mental health difficulties
No full textAttachment security priming (ASP) techniques have resulted in many positive outcomes including increased felt-security, an affective attachment state associated with optimal emotional regulation and relationship functioning. To date, however, ASP studies have almost exclusively been conducted with adult samples. This randomised experimental study investigated whether ASP could increase felt-security in adolescents with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties. We further examined the security-related themes of the written protocols produced as part of the ASP procedure, allowing for the observation of the cognitions activated by the primes. Two prime groups (N = 100, Mage = 14.5) completed a mental imagery and written priming task; the experimental group visualised a security-inducing attachment figure, whilst the control group visualised a shopping trip. The experimental group reported significantly higher felt-security (η
p
2 = 0.252) and wrote significantly more words related to attachment-relevant themes in their written protocols, compared to the control group. Findings demonstrate the potential of using ASP techniques to improve felt-security and associated outcomes in adolescents with SEMH difficulties.
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If I cry, do you care? Individual differences in empathy moderate the facilitation of caregiving words after exposure to crying faces
No full textCrying is a powerful solicitation of caregiving, yet little is known about the cognitive processes underpinning caring responses to crying others. This study examined (1) whether crying (compared to sad and happy) faces differentially elicited semantic activation of caregiving, and (2) whether individual differences in cognitive and emotional empathy moderated this activation. Ninety participants completed a lexical decision task in which caregiving, neutral, and non-words were presented after subliminal exposure (24ms.) to crying, sad, and happy faces. Individuals low in cognitive empathy had slower reaction times to caregiving (vs. neutral) words after exposure to crying faces, but not after sad or happy faces. Results are discussed in relation to the role of empathy in response to crying other
The impact of repeated attachment priming on paranoia, mood and help-seeking intentions in an analogue sample
No full textAttachment security priming effects therapeutic change in people with depression and anxiety. Preliminary studies indicate that visualising secure attachment memories also reduces paranoia in non-clinical and clinical groups, probably due to a decrease in cognitive fusion. Benefits to clinical populations depend on the sustainability of these effects and the impact on help-seeking behaviours. The combination of paranoia and an insecure-avoidant attachment style is likely to be a particular barrier to help seeking. We used a longitudinal experimental design to test the impact of repeated attachment priming on paranoia, mood and help-seeking intentions and whether cognitive fusion mediates these effects (pre-registration: https://osf.io/5yebw). Seventy-nine people with high levels of non-clinical paranoia, aged 18–50 years (M = 20.53, SD = 4.57), were randomly assigned to a secure or insecure-avoidant priming condition. Participants rehearsed the visualisa-tion prime on four consecutive days and were assessed on standardised measures of paranoia, positive and negative affect, help-seeking intentions and cognitive fusion. A series of mixed-model analyses of variance showed that security priming decreases paranoia, negative affect and cognitive fusion and increases positive affect and help seeking, compared to insecure-avoidant priming. Ex-amining the impact of primed attachment (rather than measured attachment style) allows us to draw conclusions about the causal processes involved; mediation analyses showed indirect effects of the primes on paranoia and negative affect through cognitive fusion. With a growing understanding of (1) the impact of security priming on paranoia, affect and help-seeking behaviours, (2) causal mechanisms and (3) sustainability of effects, security priming may be developed into a viable intervention for clinical populations.</p
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