Differences in Imagined Interactions as a Consequence of Marital Ideology and Attachment

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between attachment theory and Fitzpatrick's [1] marital typology based on traditional, independent, and separate ideologies in terms of imagined interactions or covert dialogues that individuals have with relational partners. According to attachment theory, individuals have internal schemata of themselves and their relationships which provide expectancies for adult relationships. These expectancies are reflected in secure, anxious/ambivalent, and avoidant attachment based on the typology derived by Hazan and Shaver [2]. A series of five hypotheses were tested exploring the relationship between attachment styles, marital types, and the prediction of attachment as a function of having imagined interactions with a relational partner in which individuals imagine talking with significant others about important relationship issues. The data revealed that sharing as a marital ideology was associated with a secure attachment and negatively associated with an anxious/ambivalent attachment. In addition, the data revealed that an anxious/ambivalent attachment was associated with having discrepant imagined interactions and that a secure attachment was associated with rehearsing messages that were vivid and nondiscrepant from real encounters. Results are discussed in terms of attachment theory, imagined interaction functions, and marital ideologies.