Attachment styles and secure base priming in relation to emotional reactivity after frustration induction

Abstract

In two experimental studies, we explored the role of attachment in predicting emotional reactivity after frustration induction. In the first study, using a cognitive frustration task, we examined in a college sample (N = 134) how attachment styles related to the experience and expression of emotions after frustration induction. In the second study, we investigated in college students (N = 198) the effect of conscious priming of the secure base schema on mood disturbance after the performance of a cognitive frustration task. Results showed that individuals experienced and expressed emotions after frustration induction independent of their attachment styles. Conscious priming of the secure base script attenuated self-reported emotional reactivity after frustration induction independent of individuals’ attachment styles. These findings suggest that the mechanism of attachment-related emotional reactivity might not pertain to frustration during an unsolvable cognitive task, but that the activation of the sense of having a secure base is useful in reducing mood disturbance in the context of a frustrating performance task.