The influence of risk situation and attachment style on helping behavior: An attentional bias perspective

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the helping behavior tendency of individuals with different attachment styles and explore their information processing from the perspective of attention in risky situations. The results showed that: (1) In high-risk situations, the helping behavior tendency of individuals with secure attachment was significantly higher than those with anxious and avoidant attachment. While in low-risk situations, there was no significant difference in their helping behavior; (2) There were different attentional biases for the different attachment styles with regard to negative emotional information. The attentional bias components of individuals with secure, avoidant, and anxious attachment were attentional maintenance, attentional orienting, and both orienting and maintenance of attention, respectively. The results reflected that attachment style had an influence on helping behavior in risky situations, and it played a role in the initial stage of such behavior, emphasizing different attentional biases to helping cue.