Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 24, 2026

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs
Published on: October 13, 2017
Working models of attachment and attribution processes in intimate relationships
Nancy L Collins1, Máire B Ford, AnaMarie C Guichard
1Department of Psychology, University of California-Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. ncollins@psych.ucsb.edu
Abstract:
Two studies examined the link between working models of attachment and social construal processes in romantic relationships. In Study 1, individuals high in attachment-related anxiety responded to hypothetical partner transgressions by endorsing relationship-threatening attributions, experiencing emotional distress, and endorsing behavioral intentions that were likely to result in conflict. These effects emerged after controlling for pessimistic explanatory style, depressed mood, and self-esteem. In addition, the association between anxiety and emotional distress was mediated by attributions and attachment-related needs. In Study 2, anxious individuals endorsed relationship-threatening attributions for their partner's transgressions but less so for their partner's positive behaviors, and these effects occurred primarily among those in unhappy relationships. In contrast, avoidant individuals endorsed pessimistic attributions for their partner's positive behavior but less so for their partner's transgressions, and these effects occurred regardless of their level of relationship satisfaction.
Related Concept Videos
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory
Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Attachment Styles
Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

