Attachment styles and attachment (in)security priming in relation to emotional conflict control.

Abstract

The functional neuro-anatomical model of attachment (NAMA) proposes that the balance between affective evaluation and cognitive control systems can be modulated by adult attachment styles and attachment priming. However, little is known about the characteristics of emotional conflict control that are modulated by attachment patterns. Accordingly, the present study adopted two experiments to investigate the associations between attachment styles, attachment (in)security priming, and emotional conflict control. Experiment 1 (N = 225) examined the association between attachment styles and emotional interference, demonstrating that individuals high on attachment anxiety (AX) relied more on affective evaluation to hinder conflict control. Furthermore, Experiment 2 (N = 185) explored the effect of attachment priming on emotional conflict control. Moderated mediation models indicated that high sense of attachment security mediated the relationship between security priming and increased emotional interference when it interacted with high AX. Additionally, high sense of insecurity partially mediated the association between threat priming and reduced emotional interference only for individuals with high AX, while low AX strengthened the effect of threat priming on decreased emotional interference. Together, these findings provide supporting evidence for the NAMA that the emotional-cognitive balance in emotional conflict control is modulated by both attachment styles and attachment priming.