Attachment-Style Differences in Attitudes toward and Reactions to Feedback from Romantic Partners: An Exploration of the Relational Bases of Self-Esteem
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online July, 1998
Attachment-Style Differences in Attitudes toward and Reactions to Feedback from Romantic Partners: An Exploration of the Relational Bases of Self-Esteem
The authors examined attachment-style differences in reliance on partner feedback to maintain self-esteem. First, they argue that those people who value relational sources of self-esteem are more open to and affected by partner feedback than those people who derive self-esteem from competence-based sources; these differences correspond to working models of self and others. Results revealed that individuals with negative other-models are relatively averse to partner feedback, and individuals with negative self-models are distressed by feedback. Second, the authors propose that, for some, partner feedback serves as a mechanism for maintaining global self-esteem; for others, feedback is irrelevant to self-esteem. Results confirmed that the association of attachment with self-esteem is fully mediated by sources of self-esteem and partially mediated by attitudes about and reactions to partner feedback. The authors discuss their results in terms of their implications for understanding relational bases of self esteem as well as working models.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ainsworth, M. S. , Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
2.
Aldrige,J. , & Clayton, G. (1990). Sources of self-esteem: Perceptions of education majors. College Student Journal;24, 404-409.
3.
Baron, R. M. , & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
4.
Bartholomew, K. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 147-178.
5.
Bartholomew, K. , & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 226-244.
6.
Bowlby,J. (1973). Separation: Vol. 2ofAttachmentand loss. New York: Basic Books.
7.
Bowlby,J. (1982). Attachment: Vol. 1 of Attachment and loss (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books. (Original work published 1969)
8.
Bowlby,J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-chi ld attachment and healthy human development. New York: Basic Books.
9.
Brennan, K. A. , Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Measurement of adult romantic attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships. New York: Guilford.
10.
Brennan, K. A. , & Morris, K. A. (1997). Attachment styles, self-esteem, and patterns of feedback seeking from romantic partners. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 23-31.
11.
Brennan, K. A. , & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Attachment styles and personality disorders: Their connections to each other, family variables, and romantic relationship functioning. Journal of Personality.
12.
Brennan, K. A. , Shaver, P. R., & Tobey, A. E. (1991). Attachment styles, gender, and parental problem drinking. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 8, 451-466.
13.
Campbell, W. K. , Sedikides, C., & Bosson, J. K. (1994). Romantic involvement, self-discrepancy, and psychological well-being: A preliminary investigation. Personal Relationships, 1, 399-404.
14.
Carnelley, K. , Pietromonaco, P., & Jaffe, K. (1994). Depression, working models of others, and relationship functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 127-140.
15.
Carpenter, E. M. , & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (in press). Attachment style and presence of a romantic partner as moderators of psychophysiological responses to a stressful laboratory situation. Personal Relationships
16.
Carver, C. S. (1997). Adult attachment and personality: Converging evidence and a new measure. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 865-883.
17.
Collins, N. L. , & Read., S.J. (1990). Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 644-663.
18.
Coopersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self esteemsSan Francisco: Freeman.
19.
Davis, K. E. , Kirkpatrick, L. A., Levy, M. B., & O'Hearn, R. (1994). Stalking the elusive love style: Attachment styles, love styles, and relationship development. In R Erber & R. Gilmour (Eds.), Theoretical frameworks for personal relationships (pp. 179-210). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
20.
Diggory,J. C. (1966). Self-evaluation: Goncepts and studies. New York:John Wiley.
21.
Duggan, E. S. , & Brennan, K. A. (1994). Social avoidance and its relation to Bartholomew's adult attachment typology. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 147-153.
22.
Elovson,A. , & Fleming,J. (1989). Rationalefor multidimensional self esteem scale scoring and weighting. Unpublished manuscript, California State University.
23.
Feeney, J. A. , & Noller, P. (1990). Attachment style as a predictor of adult romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 281-291.
24.
Fraley, R. C. , & Waller, N. G. (1998). Adult attachment patterns: A test of the typological model. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships. New York: Guilford.
25.
Franks, D. D. , & Marolla, J. (1976). Efficacious action and social approval as interacting dimensions of self-esteem: A tentative formulation through construct validation. Sociometry, 39, 466-482.
26.
Gaines, S. O. , Reis, H. T., Summers, S., Rusbult, C. E., Cox, C. L., & Wexler, M. O. (1994,July). Impact of attachment styles on individuals' responses to dissatisfaction in male-female close relatiomships. Paper presented at the biennial conference of the International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
27.
Gecas, V. (1971). Parental behavior and dimensions of adolescent self-evaluation. Sociometry, 34, 466-482.
28.
Gecas, V. , & Schwalbe, M. L. (1983). Beyond the looking-glass self: Social structure and efficacy-based self-esteem. Social Psychology Quarterly, 46, 77-88.
29.
Griffin, D. , & Bartholomew, K. (1994). Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 430-445.
30.
Harter, S. (1990). Causes, correlates, and the functional role of global self-worth: A life-span perspective. In RJ. Sternberg &J. Kolligian (Eds.), Competence considered (pp. 67-97). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
31.
Hazan, C. , & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5Z511-524.
32.
Josephs, R. A. , Markus, H. R., & Tafarodi, R. W. (1992). Gender and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 391-402.
33.
Kirkpatrick, L. A. , & Davis, K. E. (1994). Attachment style, gender, and relationship stability: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality ad Social Psychology, 66, 502-512.
34.
Kirkpatrick, L. A. , & Hazan, C. (1994). Attachment styles and close relationships: A four-year prospective study. Personal Relationships, 1, 123-142.
35.
Mikulincer, M. , Florian, V., & Weller, A. (1993). Attachment styles, coping strategies, and posttraumatic psychological distress: The impact of the Gulf War. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 817-826.
36.
Mikulincer, M. , & Nachson, O. (1991). Attachment styles and patterns of self-disclosure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 321-333.
37.
Pelham, B. W. , & Swann, W. B. Jr. (1989). From self-conceptions to self-worth: On the sources and structure of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 672-680.
38.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
39.
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the self;New York: Basic Books.
40.
Rusbult, C. E. , & Zembrodt, I. M. (1983). Responses to dissatisfaction in romantic involvements: A multidimensional scaling analysis. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 1230-1242.
41.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081.
42.
Scharfe, E. , & Bartholomew, K. (1994). Reliability and stability of adult attachment patterns. Personal Relationships, 1, 2343.
43.
Shaver, P. R. , & Brennan, K. A. (1992). Attachment styles and the "big five" personality traits: Their connections with each other and with romantic relationship outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 536-545.
44.
Shaver, P. R. , & Hazan, C. (1993). Adult romantic attachment: Theory and evidence. In D. Perlman & W.Jones (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 4, pp. 29-70). London:Jessica Kingsley.
45.
Shaver, P. R. , Papalia, D., Clark, C. L., Koski, L. R., Tidwell, M. C., & Nalbone, D. (1996). Androgyny and attachment security: Two related models of optimal personality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 582-597.
46.
Simpson,J. A. , & Rholes, W. S. (Eds.). (in press). Attachment theory and close relationships. New York: Guilford.
47.
Simpson,J. A. , Rholes, W. S., & Nelligan,J. S. (1992). Support-seeking and support-giving within couple members in an anxiety-provoking situation: The role of attachment styles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 434-446.
48.
Sullivan, H. S. (1953). The interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton.
49.
Swann, W. B. Jr. (1983). Self-verification: Bringing social reality into harmony with the self. In J. Suls & A. G. Greenwald (Eds.), Social psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 2, pp. 33-66). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
50.
Swann, W. B.Jr. , De La Ronde, C., & Hixon,J. G. (1994). Authenticity and positivity strivings in marriage and courtship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 857-869.
51.
Swann, W. B.Jr. , Wenzlaff, R. M., Krull, D. S., & Pelham, B. W. (1992). Allure of negative feedback: Self-verification strivings among depressed persons. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 293-306.
52.
Tafarodi, R. W. , & Swann, W. B.Jr. (1995). Self-liking and self-competence as dimensions of global self-esteem: Initial validation of a measure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 65, 322-342.
53.
Tajfel, H. , & Turner,J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7-24). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
54.
Tesser, A. (1988). Toward a self-evaluation maintenance model of social behavior. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 21, pp. 181-227). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
55.
Watkins, D. , & Yu,J. (1993). Gender differences in the source and level of self-esteem of Chinese college students. Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 347-352.
56.
Wilson, J. P. , & Wilson, S. B. (1976). Sources of self-esteem and the person-by-situation controversy. Psychological Reports, 38, 355-358.
