Abstract
Humans are highly social animals, and the ability to cater to the preferences of other individuals is encouraged by society. Preference-inferring is an important aspect of the theory of mind (TOM). Many previous studies have shown that attachment style is closely related to TOM ability. However, little is known about the effects of adult attachment style on preferences inferring under different levels of certainty. Here, we investigated how adult attachment style affects neural activity underlying preferences inferred under different levels of certainty by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fMRI results demonstrated that adult attachment influenced the activation of anterior insula (AI) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in response to ambiguous preference-inferring. More specifically, in the ambiguous preference condition, the avoidant attached groups exhibited a significantly enhanced activation than secure and anxious attached groups in left IPL; the anxious attached groups exhibited a significantly reduced activation secure attached group in left IPL. In addition, the anxious attached groups exhibited a significantly reduced activation than secure and avoidant attached groups in left AI. These results were also further confirmed by the subsequent PPI analysis. The results from current study suggest that, under ambiguous situations, the avoidant attached individuals show lower sensitivity to the preference of other individuals and need to invest more cognitive resources for preference-reasoning; while compared with avoidant attached group, the anxious attached individuals express high tolerance for uncertainty and a higher ToM proficiency. Results from the current study imply that differences in preference-inferring under ambiguous conditions associated with different levels of individual attachment may explain the differences in interpersonal interaction.
Highlights
“Different strokes for different folks” implies that every individual has a preference for a specific object or activity
theory of mind (ToM) skills are considered to more likely to develop within secure attachment bonds (Fonagy and Target, 1997), implying that, attachment style may have an influence on ToM, which has been supported by many other studies (Humfress et al, 2002)
The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of adult attachment orientations among healthy young adults on the neural response to preference-inferring under unambiguous and ambiguous conditions
Summary
“Different strokes for different folks” implies that every individual has a preference for a specific object or activity. Given that the MNS is strongly associated with comprehension of intention and imitation, and inferring preferences under ambiguous conditions relies more on simulated, internally generated information, it is reasonable to deduce that there may be significant activity in MNS while subjects are engaged in inferring the mental state of other individuals (e.g., preference) under ambiguous conditions. Since the preferences of other individuals, in ambiguous scenarios, are associated with high degree of uncertainty, and given that the insula cortex involves in ToM and empathy, it is reasonable to deduce that there may be significant activity in AI while participants are engaged in inferring preferences under ambiguous condition. A recent study, which investigated the relationship between ToM and attachment anxiety and avoidance among adolescence, found that anxiety toward the mother was associated with inaccurate mindreading (Hünefeldt et al, 2013b) This indicates that insecure individuals may be deficient in ToM abilities.
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