Proof of Concept and Moderators of Transference Processes in an Online Setting

Previous research examining transference – which posits people draw on past experiences with close others to inform novel interactions – has found that people attribute qualities to and express preferences for novel targets based on their similarity to significant others. However, classic tasks for testing transference required multiple sessions over many weeks, limiting the test of this process to relatively small, college student samples. The purpose of the current study (N = 532, Mage = 34.81, SD = 9.83, 61.47% Men, 63.35% White) was to create an online version of a transference task administered in one session and replicate the effect of transference with a larger sample of participants across the lifespan, and test whether targets resembling parents and ex-partners were preferable to control targets. The effects of transference and preference were replicated in the online version of the transference task. We also found preliminary evidence that the effects of transference and preference were slightly stronger in older individuals and secure individuals, albeit the effects were small. Results are discussed in the context of how individuals use previous and existing relationships to guide their behavior in new relationships.