The effects of attachment style and security priming on the perception of others’ pain

Abstract

Abundant evidence has demonstrated a relationship between adult attachment and the experience of one’s own pain. However, few studies have investigated the associations between adult attachment and perception of others’ pain. The current studies examined the effects of attachment style and security priming on the perception of others’ pain. In Study 1, we explored the influence of avoidant and anxious attachment styles on the perception of pain in pictures representing pain or no pain. The results indicated that individuals high on anxiety and low on avoidance (i.e., preoccupied attachment style) reported more pain intensity and unpleasantness for painful pictures; individuals high on both anxiety and avoidance (i.e., fearful attachment style) reported less pain intensity for painful pictures. In Study 2, we examined the effects of security priming and attachment style on the perception of pain in pictures representing pain or no pain by adopting a security priming paradigm. The results suggested that security priming attenuated perceived pain intensity for painful pictures for individuals with high attachment anxiety. In Study 3, we used another well-validated security priming paradigm; results indicated that security priming reduced perceived pain intensity for pain pictures among individuals high on anxiety and low on avoidance (i.e., preoccupied attachment style) but increased perceived pain intensity for painful pictures among individuals high on both anxiety and avoidance (i.e., fearful attachment style). Directions for future research, clinical implications, and limitations of the present studies are discussed.