Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:18:06.873Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Ex-Factor: Attachment Anxiety and Social Comparisons Across Romantic Relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2019

Simran Hingorani  and
Rebecca T. Pinkus
Simran Hingorani*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Rebecca T. Pinkus
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Simran Hingorani, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Email: simranhingorani@gmail.com
Get access

Abstract

Individuals high in attachment anxiety often experience persistent negative self-perceptions and heightened sensitivity toward perceived relationship threats. These characteristics may extend into past romantic relationships. This study examined whether individual differences in attachment style predict self-evaluations and relationship social comparison frequency. Two hundred and fifty-nine individuals rated themselves, their partner, and their current partner's ex-partner (CPE) or their ex-partner's current partner (ECP) on several dimensions. Individuals high in attachment anxiety experienced more relationship uncertainty but were not less satisfied than individuals low in attachment anxiety. They also made more comparisons in general and to relationships involving an ex-partner, and viewed themselves less positively than they viewed their CPE/ECP. Findings are discussed with respect to the influence that past relationships might hold over anxiously attached individuals’ current relationships.

Keywords

romantic relationshipsattachment anxietyformer partnersocial comparison
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 10 , 2019 , e7
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, R., Feeney, J., Hohaus, L., & Noller, P. (2001). Attachment style and coping resources as predictors of coping strategies in the transition to parenthood. Personal Relationships, 8, 137–152. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2001.tb00032.xGoogle Scholar
Arriaga, X.B., Kumashiro, M., Simpson, J.A., & Overall, N.C. (2018). Revising working models across time: Relationship situations that enhance attachment security. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22, 71–96. doi:10.1177/1088868317705257Google Scholar
Attridge, M., Berscheid, E., & Sprecher, S. (1998). Dependency and insecurity in romantic relationships: Development and validation of two companion scales. Personal Relationships, 5, 31–58. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.1998.tb00158.xGoogle Scholar
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. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.226Google Scholar
Baumeister, R.F., & Leary, M.R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497Google Scholar
Broemer, P., & Diehl, M. (2003). What you think is what you get: Comparative evaluations of close relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1560–1569. doi:10.1177/0146167203256918Google Scholar
Butzer, B., & Kuiper, N.A. (2006). Relationships between frequency of social comparisons and self-concept clarity, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 167–176. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2005.12.017Google Scholar
Butzer, B., & Campbell, L. (2008). Adult attachment, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction: A study of married couples. Personal Relationships, 15, 141–154. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2007.00189.xGoogle Scholar
Buunk, A.P. (2006). Responses to a happily married other: The role of relationship satisfaction and social comparison orientation. Personal Relationships, 13, 397–409. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2006.00126.xGoogle Scholar
Buunk, B.P., Collins, R.L., Taylor, S.E., VanYperen, N.W., & Dakof, G.A. (1990). The affective consequences of social comparison: Either direction has its ups and downs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1238–1249. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1238Google Scholar
Campbell, L., Simpson, J.A., Boldry, J., & Kashy, D.A. (2005). Perceptions of conflict and support in romantic relationships: The role of attachment anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 510–531. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.510Google Scholar
Cann, A., & Baucom, T.R. (2004). Former partners and new rivals as threats to a relationship: Infidelity type, gender, and commitment as factors related to distress and forgiveness. Personal Relationships, 11, 305–318. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2004.00084.xGoogle Scholar
Dandurand, C., Bouaziz, A., & Lafontaine, M. (2013). Attachment and couple satisfaction: The mediating effect of approach and avoidance commitment. Journal of Relationships Research, 4, 1–11. doi:10.1017/jrr.2013.3Google Scholar
Davis, D., Shaver, P.R., & Vernon, M.L. (2003). Physical, emotional, and behavioral reactions to breaking up: The roles of gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 871–884. doi:10.1177/0146167203252884Google Scholar
Derrick, J.L., & Murray, S.L. (2007). Enhancing relationship perception by reducing felt inferiority: The role of attachment style. Personal Relationships, 14, 531–549. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2007.00170.xGoogle Scholar
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140. doi:10.1177/001872675400700202Google Scholar
Fraley, R.C. (2019). Attachment in adulthood: Recent developments, emerging debates, and future directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 401–422. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102813Google Scholar
Fraley, R.C., & Waller, N.G. (1998). Adult attachment patterns: A test of the typological model. In Simpson, J.A., & Rholes, W.S. (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 77–114). New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Fraley, R.C., Waller, N.G., & Brennan, K.A. (2000). An item-response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350–365. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.78.2.350Google Scholar
Gibbons, F.X., & Buunk, B.P. (1999). Individual differences in social comparison: Development of a scale of social comparison orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 129–142. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.129Google Scholar
Gilbert, D.T., Giesler, R.B., & Morris, K.A. (1995). When comparisons arise. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 227–236. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.2.227Google Scholar
Gillath, O., Karantzas, G., & Fraley, R.C. (2016). Adult attachment: A concise introduction to theory and research. New York, NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511Google Scholar
Karantzas, G.C., Feeney, J.A, & Wilkinson, R. (2010). Is less more? Confirmatory factor analysis of the Attachment Style Questionnaires. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27, 749–780. doi:10.1177/0265407510373756Google Scholar
Kelley, H.H., & Thibaut, J.W. (1978). Interpersonal relations: A theory of interdependence. New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
LeFebvre, L., Blackburn, K., & Brody, N. (2015). Navigating romantic relationships on Facebook: Extending the relationship dissolution model to social networking environments. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 32, 78–98. doi:10.1177/0265407514524848Google Scholar
Loving, T.J. (2006). Predicting dating relationship fate with insiders’ and outsiders’ perspectives: Who and what is asked matters. Personal Relationships, 13, 349–362. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2006.00122.xGoogle Scholar
Major, B., Testa, M., & Bylsma, W.H. (1991). Responses to upward and downward social comparisons: The impact of esteem-relevance and perceived control. In Suls, J. & Wills, T.A. (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 237–259). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum & Associates.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P.R. (2007). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., Shaver, P.R., & Pereg, D. (2003). Attachment theory and affect regulation: The dynamics, development, and cognitive consequences of attachment-related strategies. Motivation and Emotion, 27, 77–102. doi:10.1023/A:1024515519160Google Scholar
Moreira, J.M. (2011). Adult attachment style across individuals and role-relationships: Avoidance is relationship-specific, but anxiety shows greater generalisability. Journal of Relationships Research, 2, 63–72. doi:10.1375/jrr.2.1.63Google Scholar
Morry, M.M., & Sucharyna, T.A. (2016). Relationship social comparison interpretations and dating relationship quality, behaviors, and mood. Personal Relationships, 23, 554–576. doi:10.1111/pere.12143Google Scholar
Murray, A.J., & Hazelwood, Z.J. (2011). Being grateful: Does it bring us closer? Gratitude, attachment and intimacy in romantic relationships. Journal of Relationships Research, 2, 17–25. doi:10.1375/jrr.2.1.17Google Scholar
Murray, S.L., Holmes, J.G., & Griffin, D.W. (1996a). The benefits of positive illusions: Idealization and the construction of satisfaction in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 79–98. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.1.79Google Scholar
Murray, S.L., Holmes, J.G., & Griffin, D.W. (1996b). The self-fulfilling nature of positive illusions in romantic relationships: Love is not blind, but prescient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1155–1180. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.71.6.1155Google Scholar
Overall, N.C., Girme, Y.U., Lemay, E.P. Jr., & Hammond, M.D. (2014). Attachment anxiety and reactions to relationship threat: The benefits and costs of inducing guilt in romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 106, 235–256. doi:10.1037/a0034371Google Scholar
Pinkus, R.T., Lockwood, P., Schimmack, U., & Fournier, M.A. (2008). For better and for worse: Everyday social comparisons between romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1180–1201. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1180Google Scholar
Rodriguez, L.M., DiBello, A.M., Øverup, C.S., & Neighbors, C. (2015). The price of distrust: Trust, anxious attachment, jealousy, and partner abuse. Partner Abuse, 6, 298–319. doi:10.1891/1946-6560.6.3.298Google Scholar
Rodriguez, L.M., Øverup, C.S., Wickham, R.E., Knee, C.R., & Amspoker, A.B. (2016). Communication with former romantic partners and current relationship outcomes among college students. Personal Relationships, 23, 409–424. doi:10.1111/pere.12133Google Scholar
Rusbult, C.E. (1980). Commitment and satisfaction in romantic associations: A test of the investment model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 16, 172–186. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(80)90007-4Google Scholar
Simpson, J.A. (1990). Influence of attachment styles on romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 971–980. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.5.971Google Scholar
Smith LeBeau, L., & Buckingham, J.T. (2008). Relationship social comparison tendencies, insecurity, and perceived relationship quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 71–86. doi:10.1177/0265407507086806Google Scholar
Spielmann, S.S., Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Kogan, A. (2013). Ex appeal: Current relationship quality and emotional attachment to ex-partners. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4, 175–180. doi:10.1177/1948550612448198Google Scholar
Sprecher, S., & Hendrick, S.S. (2004). Self-disclosure in intimate relationships: Associations with individual and relationship characteristics over time. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 857–877. doi:10.1521/jscp.23.6.857.54803Google Scholar
Stanton, S.C.E., & Campbell, L. (2015). Can't get you off my mind: Relationship reflection creates cognitive load for more anxiously attached individuals. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 32, 441–455. doi:10.1177/0265407514536292Google Scholar
Tan, K., Agnew, C.R., VanderDrift, L.E., & Harvey, S.M. (2015). Committed to us: Predicting relationship closeness following nonmarital romantic relationship breakup. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 32, 456–471. doi:10.1177/0265407514536293Google Scholar
Taylor, S.E., Buunk, B.P., & Aspinwall, L. (1990). Social comparison, stress and coping. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 74–89. doi:10.1177/0146167290161006Google Scholar
Thai, S., & Lockwood, P. (2015). Comparing you = comparing me: Social comparisons of the expanded self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41, 989–1004. doi: 10.1177/0146167215588094Google Scholar
Thai, S., Lockwood, P., Pinkus, R.T., & Chen, S.Y. (2016). Being better than you is better for us: Attachment avoidance and social comparisons within romantic relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 33, 493–514. doi:10.1177/0265407515578826Google Scholar
Tokunaga, R.S. (2016). Interpersonal surveillance over social network sites: Applying a theory of negative relational maintenance and the investment model. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 33, 171–190. doi:10.1177/0265407514568749Google Scholar
Wayment, H.A., & Taylor, S.E. (1995). Self-evaluation processes: Motives, information use, and self-esteem. Journal of Personality, 63, 729–757. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1995.tb00315.xGoogle Scholar
Wheeler, L., & Miyake, K. (1992). Social comparison in everyday life. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 62, 760–773. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.62.5.760Google Scholar
Wood, J.V. (1989). Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 231–248.Google Scholar