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Enhancing relationship perceptions by reducing felt inferiority: The role of attachment style
Author(s) -
DERRICK JAYE L.,
MURRAY SANDRA L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2007.00170.x
Subject(s) - psychology , perception , social psychology , attachment theory , romance , anxiety , value (mathematics) , computer science , neuroscience , psychiatry , machine learning , psychoanalysis
To trust in a romantic partner’s acceptance and love, people need to believe they are just as good a person as their partner (and that their partner shares this perception). Yet, people low in attachment security may have difficulty sustaining these beliefs. Two experiments examined the consequences of reducing felt inferiority to the partner. Participants high in attachment anxiety (Experiment 1) and attachment avoidance (Experiment 2) reported greater confidence in their partner’s acceptance and love and attached greater value to their partner when led to feel (or to believe their partner saw them as) superior to their partner. Thus, reducing felt inferiority may effectively enhance relationship perceptions for people relatively low in attachment security.