Your love makes me feel more secure: Boosting attachment security decreases materialistic values

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Attachment Theory

Background:

• Interpersonal security is linked to reduced desire for material possessions.
• Attachment security, a key aspect of interpersonal security, warrants examination regarding its influence on materialism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between attachment security and materialistic values.
• To determine if enhancing attachment security can decrease materialism.

Main Methods:

• Study 1 utilized the Experience in Close Relationships-Short Scale and Material Values Scale to assess attachment insecurity and materialism.
• Study 2 employed priming techniques to manipulate participants' feelings of attachment security, followed by measures of state materialism and reaction times to materialism-related words.

Main Results:

• A positive correlation was found between attachment insecurity and materialism in Study 1.
• Priming attachment security led to lower state materialism (Study 2a) and slower responses to materialism-related words (Studies 2b and 2c) compared to a neutral condition.
• Attachment styles did not moderate the observed relationship between attachment security and materialism.

Conclusions:

• Attachment security is inversely related to materialism.
• Interventions aimed at enhancing attachment security can effectively reduce materialistic values, irrespective of an individual's underlying attachment style.