 30. Attachment Theory and Personality  651
TABLE 30.1.  A Brief Overview of Attachment Research Interfacing with Multiple Areas 
of Psychological  Science
Domain Example study or review
Cognitive processes
Attachment avoidance is related to the suppression of 
attachment-related information, but in ways that are 
constrained by cognitive resources.Mikulincer, Shaver, & Dolev (2004)
Attachment anxiety is associated with the production of false 
memories about interpersonal information.Hudson & Fraley (2018)
Attachment insecurity is associated with making negative 
attributions about a partner’s ambiguous behavior.Collins (1996)
Industrial–organizational
Attachment anxiety is associated with to job-related burnout. Vîrg â, Schaufeli, Taris, van Beek, & 
Sulea (2019)
Leaders’ attachment anxiety is associated with more self-
serving leadership motives and poor leadership qualities in 
task-oriented situations.Harms (2011); Davidovitz, Mikulincer, 
Shaver, Izsak, & Popper (2007)
The association between fit perceptions and job satisfaction is 
weaker for highly avoidant employees.Dahling & Librizzi (2015)
People high in attachment avoidance are less likely to engage in 
organizational citizenship behaviors.Harms, Bai, & Han (2016)
Developmental
Attachment styles are relatively stable in adolescence, but 
less so among teens from families characterized by parental 
separation or divorce.Jones et al. (2018)
Attachment is related to a variety of parenting behaviors and 
attitudes, including feelings of closeness to children, desire to 
have children, parental satisfaction, and parental sensitivity.Jones, Cassidy, & Shaver (2015)
Clinical and psychopathology
Attachment insecurity is associated with psychosis. Carr, Hardy, & Fornells-Ambrojo (2018)
Secure individuals are less likely than others to experience 
symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression 
following traumatic experiences.Fraley, Fazzari, Bonanno, & Dekel 
(2006)
Avoidant adults are more likely to rapidly respond to danger, 
whereas anxious adults are more likely to quickly and 
accurately detect environmental threats.Ein-Dor (2015)
Attachment styles are related to personality disorders. Fossati et al. (2015)
Attachment theory has informed a variety of approaches to 
treatment.Mikulincer, Shaver, & Berant (2013)
(continued)