The pushes and pulls of close relationships
Attachment insecurities and relational ambivalence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6202565 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mario Mikulincer (0000-0003-3639-0146, Reichman University), P R Shaver (0000-0003-2578-2777, University of California, Davis), Naama Bar-On (Bar-Ilan University), Tsachi Ein-Dor (0000-0002-3078-7591, Reichman University) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 98 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 450-468 |
| Publication date | 2010-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/a0017366 |
| PMID | 20175624 |
| OpenAlex | W2059900171 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 94 |
| References cited | 30 |
Attachment theorists have emphasized that attachment-anxious individuals are ambivalent in their relational tendencies, wishing to be close to their relationship partners but also fearing rejection. Here we report 6 studies examining the contribution of attachment anxiety and experimentally induced relational contexts (both positive and negative) to explicit and implicit manifestations of (a) attitudinal ambivalence toward a romantic partner and (b) motivational ambivalence with respect to the goals of relational closeness and distance. Attachment-anxious individuals exhibited strong attitudinal ambivalence toward a romantic partner, assessed by both explicit and implicit measures. They also exhibited strong motivational ambivalence regarding closeness (both explicit and implicit), and this motivational conflict was intensified in relational contexts that encouraged either approach or avoidance tendencies. Participants who scored relatively high on avoidant attachment proved to be implicitly ambivalent about distance issues but mainly in negative relational contexts. Several alternative interpretations of the results were considered and ruled out
Ambivalence · Attachment theory · Closeness · Developmental psychology · Psychoanalysis · Romance · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Customer Service Quality and Loyalty · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 94 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,88 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2026 (17) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 90 |