Attachment anxiety and reciprocity as moderators of interpersonal attraction

In integrating the interpersonal domains of attraction, perceived reciprocity, and attachment security, the prediction was made that positive interpersonal feedback (reciprocity) would lead to a greater increase in attraction ratings for anxiously versus securely attached individuals and, correspondingly, negative interpersonal feedback would cause a greater diminution in attraction ratings for anxiously versus securely attached individuals, with neutral feedback having no differential effect. For a sample of 154 college students, these predictions as well as an unanticipated gender finding were supported. The findings and clinical implications concerning the susceptibility of anxiously attached individuals to positive interpersonal cues are discussed in terms of a compromised sense of the availability and responsiveness of attachment figures.