1
|
Zhang M, Wang J, Li Q, Li S, Bao X, Chen X. Temporal characteristics of emotional conflict processing: the modulation role of attachment styles. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 193:112243. [PMID: 37689370 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.112243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Theoretical account of attachment proposed that individual differences in adult attachment styles play a key role in adjusting balance between affective evaluation and cognitive control. Yet, little is known about the temporal characteristics of emotional conflict processing modulated by attachment styles. Accordingly, the present study used event-related potentials (ERP) and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) combined with an emotional face-word Stroop task to investigate the temporal dynamics of attachment-related cognitive-affective patterns in emotional conflict processing. The ERP results demonstrated multiple-process of emotional conflict modulated by attachment styles. In early sensory processing, positive faces captured avoidant attachment individuals' attention as reflected in greater P1, while the same situation led to greater N170 in secure and anxious individuals. Crucially, impairment in conflict-monitoring function was found in anxious individuals as reflected by the absence of interference effect on N450, leading to impaired ability of inhibitory control as indicated by decreased slow potential. In contrast, avoidant individuals showed greater slow potential for inhibiting emotional interference. Furthermore, MVPA revealed that the corresponding time window for conflict monitoring was found for emotional distractors decoding rather than congruency decoding in the anxious attachment group. Convergent results from ERPs and MVPA indicated that the deficits in emotional conflict monitoring and resolution among anxious individuals might be due to the excessive approach to emotional distractors, as they habitually use emotional evaluation rather than cognitive control. In summary, the present study provides electrophysiological evidence that attachment styles modulated emotional conflict processing, which highlights the contribution of attachment to social information processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mengke Zhang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Jing Wang
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, China
| | - Qing Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Song Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Xiuqin Bao
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Xu Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gu S, Jiang Y, Liu M, Li Y, Liang Y, Feng R, Xu M, Wang F, Huang JH. Eye movements and ERP biomarkers for face processing problems in avoidant attachment-style individuals. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1135909. [PMID: 37273280 PMCID: PMC10235504 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1135909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Avoidant attachment poses a serious risk to intimate relationships and offspring. However, there are few studies on the face-processing characteristics and impairments of avoidant individuals based on basic emotion theory. Therefore, this study investigated the issues of emotional processing and deactivation strategies in individuals with avoidant attachment. Methods Avoidant and secure individuals were recruited to participate in an eye-tracking experiment and a two-choice oddball task in which they had to distinguish facial expressions of basic emotions (sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and neutral). Eye fixation durations to various parts of the face, including the eyes, nose, and mouth, were measured, and three event-related potentials (ERP) components (P100, N170, and P300) were monitored. Results Avoidant individuals could not process facial expressions as easily as secure individuals. Avoidant individuals focused less on the eyes of angry faces when compared to secure individuals. They also exhibited a more positive P100 component and a less negative N170 component when processing faces and a larger amplitude of the P300 component than secure individuals when processing emotional expressions. Conclusion Avoidant individuals use deactivating strategies and exhibit specific characteristics at different stages, which are of great significance in social interaction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simeng Gu
- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yao Jiang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Mei Liu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yumeng Li
- Department of Psychology, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yuan Liang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Rou Feng
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Minghong Xu
- Department of Neurology, Lianyungang Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Fushun Wang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jason H. Huang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor Scott & White Health Center, Temple, TX, United States
- Department of Surgery, Texas A&M University, Temple, TX, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kungl M, Vrticka P, Heinisch C, Beckmann MW, Fasching PA, Ziegler C, Spangler G. Deactivating attachment strategies associate with early processing of facial emotion and familiarity in middle childhood: an ERP study. Attach Hum Dev 2023; 25:199-217. [PMID: 36222516 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2022.2132050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Neurophysiological evidence suggests associations between attachment and the neural processing of emotion expressions. This study asks whether this relationship is also evident in middle childhood, and how it is affected by facial familiarity. Attachment strategies (deactivation, hyperactivation) were assessed in 51 children (9 - 11 years) using a story stem completion task. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during children's passive viewing of mother and stranger emotional faces (angry/happy). At the stage of facial information encoding (N250), attachment deactivation was associated with a pattern pointing to increased vigilance towards angry faces. Further, the attention-driven LPP was increased to happy mother faces as highly salient stimuli overall, but not in children scoring high on deactivation. These children did not discriminate between mothers' facial emotions and showed a general attentional withdrawal from facial stimuli. While our results on attachment deactivation support a two-stage processing model, no effect of hyperactivation was found.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Kungl
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Pascal Vrticka
- Department of Psychology, Centre for Brain Science, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Christine Heinisch
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Matthias W Beckmann
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Peter A Fasching
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Clara Ziegler
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Gottfried Spangler
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Uccula A, Mercante B, Barone L, Enrico P. Adult Avoidant Attachment, Attention Bias, and Emotional Regulation Patterns: An Eye-Tracking Study. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 13:bs13010011. [PMID: 36661583 PMCID: PMC9855192 DOI: 10.3390/bs13010011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Proximity-seeking in distress situations is one of attachment theory's primary strategies; insecure individuals often also develop secondary strategies. The mechanisms implied in attachment deactivation constitute a key issue in the current debate related to their role in support-seeking. The main aim of this study is to investigate the attachment deactivation strategy and the processes of proximity/support-seeking under distress conditions by analyzing the attentional processes (i.e., an essential emotion-regulation strategy), using eye-tracking techniques. Seventy-two participants (45 female; Mage 23.9 ± 3.97) responded to the ECR-R questionnaire in order to identify their attachment style. They participated in an experimental situation in which they had to choose between pictures of care or pictures of food, following the presentation of threatening or neutral prime conditions (via the pictures' stimuli). Results showed that a care-consistency response pattern was the most frequent pattern of response, particularly under a threatening condition; on the contrary, only avoidant individuals showed a lower care-consistency response pattern by choosing food pictures. The overall findings demonstrate that avoidant individuals used the deactivation strategy to process comfort-related attachment pictures, suggesting that they considered these stimuli to be threatening. The implications for attachment theory and particularly for avoidant strategies are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arcangelo Uccula
- Department of History, Human Sciences and Education, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Beniamina Mercante
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| | - Lavinia Barone
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Paolo Enrico
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Ding F, Jia Y, Cheng G, Wu L, Hu T, Zhang D. Secure Attachment Priming Amplifies Approach Motivation for Infant Faces Among Childless Adults. Front Psychol 2021; 12:736379. [PMID: 34777122 PMCID: PMC8578675 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.736379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Existing studies have indicated that priming secure attachment alters adults' neural responses to infant faces. However, no study has examined whether this effect exists for motivational behavioral responses, and none of the previous studies included adult faces as a baseline to determine whether the security prime enhances responses to human faces in general or infant faces alone. To address this limitation, the current study recruited 160 unmarried and childless adults in the first phase, and all of them completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Interest in Infants, the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR), and State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM). A week later, after priming, 152 (76 security-primed vs. 76 neutrally primed) participants completed the SAAM and a behavioral program assessing their motivational responses to both adult and infant faces (i.e., liking, representational, and evoked responses). A manipulation check showed that the security prime was effective. Then, generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs) showed that security priming enhances adults' liking, representational, and evoked responses (three components of the motivational system) only to infant faces and not to adult faces. Moreover, hierarchical regression analysis indicated that, even after security priming, there was a substantial linear relationship between positive motivation toward infant faces and the state of adult secure attachment. In summary, this study demonstrated for the first time that promoting the state of adult secure attachment can effectively enhance the effect size of the baby face schema. The current results were interpreted according to Bowlby's view of the attachment behavioral system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Ding
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuncheng Jia
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Gang Cheng
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China.,Center for Rural Children and Adolescents Mental Health Education, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, China
| | - Lili Wu
- Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience Research Center, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
| | - Tianqiang Hu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Dajun Zhang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Maleki G, Mazaheri MA, Nejati V, Borhani K, Bosmans G. The Attachment-related picture set (ARPS): development and validation. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01727-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
7
|
Simon-Dack SL, Perrone-McGovern KM, Marmarosh CL, Matsen J. The role of attachment security in error self-monitoring: Is a social component necessary? PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
|
8
|
Congia P. Adult attachment dimensions: Differential effects on physiological and subjective response during the recollection of childhood memories. EUROPES JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 16:639-658. [PMID: 33680203 PMCID: PMC7909495 DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v16i4.1892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between adult attachment dimensions and emotional response induced by the recall of potentially painful memories from childhood. A convenience sample of 100 women responded to an interview that focused on experiences with their caregivers during childhood, and a control interview, in counterbalanced order. Skin conductance level (SCL), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), as well as subjective distress measures were collected. Results from generalized linear mixed model indicated that individuals high in avoidance showed a pattern of SCL increase from baseline that persisted during rest phases regardless of the topic addressed. Attachment dimensions did not affect HR, neither alone nor interacting with the interviews content, whereas baseline resting vagal tone was the most important factor. No attachment dimensions effects were observed on subjective measures of emotion; the time-varying vagal tone during rest phases did not moderate their relationships. Limited evidence was observed in support of the hypothesis that attachment Avoidance and Anxiety are associated with distinct physiological regulation profiles during the recall of potentially painful childhood memories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pierpaolo Congia
- Cognitive Psychotherapy Training School (ATC), Cagliari, Italy
- Cognitive Psychotherapy Training School, (ATC), Via Francesco Crispi, 19, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Schindler S, Bublatzky F. Attention and emotion: An integrative review of emotional face processing as a function of attention. Cortex 2020; 130:362-386. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
10
|
Long M, Verbeke W, Ein-Dor T, Vrtička P. A functional neuro-anatomical model of human attachment (NAMA): Insights from first- and second-person social neuroscience. Cortex 2020; 126:281-321. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
11
|
Avoidant romantic attachment in adolescence: Gender, excessive internet use and romantic relationship engagement effects. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201176. [PMID: 30052689 PMCID: PMC6063419 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Romantic development is a distinctive characteristic of puberty. However, a significant proportion of adolescents present with avoidant romantic attachment (ARA) tendencies, which have significant impact on their general adaptation. ARA variations have been suggested in relation to age, gender, engagement with a romantic partner and Excessive Internet Use (EIU) behaviours. In this longitudinal, two-wave study of a normative sample of 515 Greek adolescents at 16 and 18 years, ARA was assessed with the relevant subscale of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised and EIU with the Internet Addiction Test. A three-level hierarchical linear model found ARA tendencies to decrease between 16 and 18 while engagement in a romantic relationship and EIU were associated with lower and higher ARA tendencies respectively. Gender did not differentiate ARA severity either at the age of 16 or its changes over time. Results highlight the need of adopting a longitudinal-contextualized approach and provide implications for prevention and intervention initiatives in relation to the romantic development of adolescents.
Collapse
|
12
|
Liu Y, Ding Y, Lu L, Chen X. Attention Bias of Avoidant Individuals to Attachment Emotion Pictures. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41631. [PMID: 28128347 PMCID: PMC5269715 DOI: 10.1038/srep41631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
How attachment style affects emotion processing is tightly connected with individuals’ attention bias. This experiment explored avoidant individuals’ attentional engagement and attentional disengagement using a cue-target paradigm in fMRI. The experimental group consisted of 17 avoidant participants, while the control group consisted of 16 secure participants; these were identified by the Experiences in Close Relationships inventory and the Relationship Questionnaire. Each reacted to pictures of positive parent-child attachment, negative parent-child attachment, positive romantic attachment, negative romantic attachment, and neutral non-attachment. Behaviorally, avoidant individuals were slower than secure individuals in responding to emotions and their attentional disengagement effect for negative parent-child emotions was stronger than positive ones. fMRI results showed that avoidant compared to secure individuals activated more strongly in the right superior temporal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, and the left medial frontal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, supplementary motor area, and cingulate gyrus. They also showed stronger activation in disengaging from positive than negative emotions in the bilateral fusiform and middle occipital gyri. In conclusion, avoidant individuals could detect emotions as effective as secure individuals in attentioal engaging stages. They can disengage from positive emotions with effective cognitive resources and were harder to get rid of negative emotions with insufficient resource.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Liu
- Attachment Research Lab, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing City, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715 China
| | - Yi Ding
- Attachment Research Lab, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing City, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715 China
| | - Luluzi Lu
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xu Chen
- Attachment Research Lab, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing City, 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715 China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Zhai J, Chen X, Ma J, Yang Q, Liu Y. The vigilance-avoidance model of avoidant recognition: An ERP study under threat priming. Psychiatry Res 2016; 246:379-386. [PMID: 27788456 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Revised: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/13/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Our study examined attachment-related electrophysiological differences in recognition using event-related potentials (ERPs) measured during a study-test paradigm after threat priming. We identified ERP correlates of recognition by comparing the ERPs of attachment-related positive and negative images between avoidant and secure attachment orientations. Our results revealed that the distribution of early old/new effects was broader in avoidant individuals than in secure individuals, and an early parietal old/new effect was observed in avoidant individuals, which reflected their implicit memory. The late old/new effect was found only in secure individuals when evoked by negative pictures, and was not observed in avoidant individuals. The results suggest that avoidant individuals adopt the "vigilance-avoidance" dual-process model to recognize both positive and negative attachment-related stimuli and carry out preferential familiarity matching at the automatic level and avoidant retrieval at the controlled-processing level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhai
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China; Hubei tianmen high school, Hu Bei, China
| | - Xu Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China.
| | - Jianling Ma
- Institute of Education, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chong Qing, China
| | - Qingqing Yang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chong Qing, China
| |
Collapse
|