Working models of attachment and daily social interactions

This study tested whether working models of attachment guide how people construe and respond to social interactions by examining immediate responses to a range of everyday interactions and to specific attachment-relevant interactions; Patterns for immediate reports were compared with those for more memory-based, global reports. Secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing participants provided immediate reports after their social interactions for 1 week and completed retrospective questionnaires. Attachment differences were accentuated in attachment-relevant, high-conflict interactions. Preoccupied participants responded more favorably after conflict than did secure or dismissing-avoidant participants. Immediate and retrospective patterns diverged in important ways. How working models contribute to perceptions may depend on the fit between attachment goals and the situation and on the extent of memory-based processing.