The Role of Attachment Style and Relationship Status of the Perceiver in the Perceptions of Romantic Partner

Abstract

Intimate relationships can influence interpersonal perception because they are characterized by emotional involvement and close attachment between the members of the dyad; thus, attachment theory and research may shed light on interpersonal perception within intimate relationships. In this study, a probability sample of 179 men and 198 women who were married or involved in a committed dating relationship, was examined to test the hypothesis that attachment style and degree of public commitment to the relationship (i.e. marital status) would predict perceptions of partners. Secure individuals had positive appraisals of their partner regardless of marital status, suggesting that secure individuals do not need concrete indicators of commitment to feel positively towards their partners. For insecure attachment styles, perception of partner was associated with the degree of public commitment as well as sex and attachment style of the perceiver. These findings highlight the need for more studies recognizing how differences in sex and marital status affect the association between attachment styles and perceptions of partners.