Interpersonal attachment predicts identification with groups

Crisp, R.J.; Farrow, C.V.; Rosenthal, H.E.S.; Walsh, J.; Blissett, J.; Penn, Nicola M.K.

Abstract

We propose a model documenting the relationship between interpersonal attachment style and identification with groups. We hypothesized that following threat to a romantic interpersonal relationship higher attachment anxiety would be associated with lowered tendencies to identify with groups. In two studies using varied social groups we observed support for this hypothesis. In Experiment 1 we found that participants higher in attachment anxiety identified less with a salient ingroup after imagining a distressing argument with their romantic partner. In Experiment 2 we replicated these findings using an implicit measure of social identification and additionally observed a moderating role for attachment avoidance. We discuss the implications of these findings for theoretical models of interpersonal attachment and social identification.

Citation

Crisp, R., Farrow, C., Rosenthal, H., Walsh, J., Blissett, J., & Penn, N. M. (2009). Interpersonal attachment predicts identification with groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(1), 115-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.09.006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Sep 30, 2008
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: May 23, 2012
• Journal: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
• Print ISSN: 0022-1031
• Electronic ISSN: 1096-0465
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 115-122
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.09.006
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1531498