The Effect of Reinforcement Sensitivity of Personality on Intimate Relationships: The Mediation Effect of Adult Attachment

Abstract

Abstract: In the present study, the mediation effect of adult attachment on the relationship between reinforcement sensitivity of personality and intimacy, passion, and commitment was investigated. Three questionnaires, the experiences in close relationships inventory, the triangular love scale, and the sensitivity to punishment and sensitivity to reward questionnaire, were selected as the measurements, and the participants were 558 undergraduates who were in romantic relationships. The important mediating role of adult attachment is confirmed by the results:1) The sensitivity to punishment influences intimacy, passion and commitment through avoidance; 2) Both sensitivity to punishment and sensitivity to reward influence intimacy and passion through anxiety. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that adult attachment significantly mediates the effect of reinforcement sensitivity of personality on intimate relationships.

Key words: intimate relationships, sensitivity to punishment and reward, adult attachment

摘要： 采用奖惩敏感性人格量表（SPSRQ）、亲密关系体验量表（ECR）和爱情三角理论量表（TLS）调查558名正处于恋爱阶段的大学生，探索成人依恋类型在强化敏感性人格特质与两性亲密关系之间的中介作用。研究结果显示惩罚敏感性通过回避依恋影响亲密、激情和承诺；奖励敏感性和惩罚敏感性都可通过焦虑依恋影响亲密和激情，这表明成人依恋类型是强化敏感性人格特质影响两性亲密关系的重要中介因素。

关键词: 亲密关系, 强化敏感性人格, 成人依恋

CLC Number:

B849

GU Li, YANG Ruoxi, ZHOU Guangdong. The Effect of Reinforcement Sensitivity of Personality on Intimate Relationships: The Mediation Effect of Adult Attachment[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2018, 16(4): 534-540.

谷莉, 杨若汐, 周广东. 强化敏感性人格特质对两性亲密关系的影响：成人依恋类型的中介作用[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2018, 16(4): 534-540.

References

郭少聃, 何金莲, 张利燕. (2009). 强化敏感性人格理论述评. 心理科学进展, 17(2), 390-395.
张晓露, 陈旭. (2014). 成人依恋风格在信息加工中表现出差异性的神经机制. 心理科学进展, 22(3), 448-457.
Acevedo, B. P., & Aron, A. (2009). Does a long-term relationship kill romantic love?. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 59-65.
Acevedo, B. P., Aron, A., Fisher, H. E., & Brown, L. L. (2012). Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love. Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, 7(2), 145-159.
Aron, A., Fisher, H. E., Strong, G., Acevedo, B., Riela, S., & Tsapelas, I. (2008). Falling in love. In S. Sprecher, A. Wenzel, & J. Harvey (Eds.), Handbook of relationship initiation (pp. 315-336). New York:Psychology Press.
Becker, S. P., Fite, P. J., Garner, A. A., Greening, L., Stoppelbein, L., & Luebbe, A. M. (2013). Reward and punishment sensitivity are differentially associated with ADHD and sluggish cognitive tempo symptoms in children. Journal of Research in Personality, 47(6), 719-727.
Campbell, L., Simpson, J. A., Kashy, D. A., & Rholes, W. S. (2001). Attachment orientations, dependence, and behavior in a stressful situation:An application of the actor-partner interdependence model. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 18(6), 821-843.
Cassepp-Borges, V., & Pasquali, L. (2012). Sternberg's triangular love scale national study of psychometric attributes. Paidéia, 22(51), 21-31.
Chavis, J. M., & Kisley, M. A. (2012). Adult attachment and motivated attention to social images:Attachment-based differences in event-related brain potentials to emotional images. Journal of Research in Personality, 46(1), 55-62.
Cohen, M., & Shaver, P. (2004). Avoidant attachment and hemispheric lateralisation of the processing of attachment- and emotion-related words. Cognition & Emotion, 18(6), 799-813.
Donges, U. S., Kugel, H., Stuhrmann, A., Grotegerd, D., Redlich, R., Lichev, V., … Dannlowski, U. (2012). Adult attachment anxiety is associated with enhanced automatic neural response to positive facial expression. Neuroscience, 220, 149-157.
Dykas, M. J., & Cassidy, J. (2011). Attachment and the processing of social information across the life span:Theory and evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 137(1), 19-46.
Ein-Dor, T., Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2011). Attachment insecurities and the processing of threat-related information:Studying the schemas involved in insecure people's coping strategies. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 101(1), 78-93.
Feeney, J. A., & Noller, P. (1990). Attachment style as a predictor of adult romantic relationships. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 58(2), 281-291.
Fraley, R. C., Niedenthal, P. M., Marks, M., Brumbaugh, C., & Vicary, A. (2006). Adult attachment and the perception of emotional expressions:Probing the hyperactivating strategies underlying anxious attachment. Journal of Personality, 74(4), 1163-1190.
Gray, J. A. (1987). Perspectives on anxiety and impulsivity:A commentary. Journal of Research in Personality, 21(4), 493-509.
Honari, B., & Saremi, A. A. (2015). The study of relationship between attachment styles and obsessive love style. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 165, 152-159.
Ináncsi, T., Láng, A., & Bereczkei, T. (2015). Machiavellianism and adult attachment in general interpersonal relationships and close relationships. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 11(1), 139-154.
Kelley, H. H., & Thibaut, J. W. (1978). Interpersonal relations:A theory of interdependence. New York:Wiley.
Lassri, D., Luyten, P., Cohen, G., & Shahar, G. (2016). The effect of childhood emotional maltreatment on romantic relationships in young adulthood:A double mediation model involving self-criticism and attachment. Psychological Trauma:Theory, Research, Practice, & Policy, 8(4), 504-511.
Le, B., Dove, N. L., Agnew, C. R., Korn, M. S., & Mutso, A. A. (2010). Predicting nonmarital romantic relationship dissolution:A meta-analytic synthesis. Personal Relationships, 17(3), 377-390.
Lemche, E., Giampietro, V. P., Surguladze, S. A., Amaro, E. J., Andrew, C. M., Williams, S. C. R., … Phillips, M. L. (2006). Human attachment security is mediated by the amygdala:Evidence from combined fMRI and psychophysiological measures. Human Brain Mapping, 27(8), 623-635.
Madey, S. F., & Rodgers, L. (2009). The effect of attachment and Sternberg's triangular theory of love on relationship satisfaction. Individual Differences Research, 7(2), 76-84.
Mikulincer, M., & Erev, I. (1991). Attachment style and the structure of romantic love. British Journal of Social Psychology, 30(4), 273-291.
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2003). The attachment behavioral system in adulthood:Activation, psychodynamics, and interpersonal processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 53-152.
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2007). Attachment in adulthood:Structure, dynamics, and change. New York:The Guilford Press.
Miller, R. (2014). Intimate relationships (7th ed.). New York:McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Mitchell, J. T., Kimbrel, N. A., Hundt, N. E., Cobb, A. R., Nelson-Gray, R. O., & Lootens, C. M. (2007). An analysis of reinforcement sensitivity theory and the five-factor model. European Journal of Personality, 21(7), 869-887.
Nisenbaum, M. G., & Lopez, F. G. (2015). Adult attachment orientations and anger expression in romantic relationships:A dyadic analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(1), 63-72.
Ravitz, P., Maunder, R., Hunter, J., Sthankiya, B., & Lancee, W. (2010). Adult attachment measures:A 25-year review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 69(4), 419-432.
Revelle, W. (2008). The contribution of reinforcement sensitivity theory to personality theory. In P. J. Corr (Ed.), The reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality (pp. 508-527). Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Rognoni, E., Galati, D., Costa, T., & Crini, M. (2008). Relationship between adult attachment patterns, emotional experience and EEG frontal asymmetry. Personality & Individual Differences, 44(4), 909-920.
Rusbult, C. E., Arriaga, X. B., & Agnew, C. R. (2001). Interdependence in close relationships. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology:Interpersonal processes (pp. 359-387). Oxford:Blackwell.
Schreurs, B., Guenter, H., Hülsheger, U., & van Emmerik, E. (2014). The role of punishment and reward sensitivity in the emotional labor process:A within-person perspective. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(1), 108-121.
Schultz, W. (2000). Multiple reward signals in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 1(3), 199-208.
Sheynin, J., Moustafa, A. A., Beck, K. D., Servatius, R. J., & Myers, C. E. (2015). Testing the role of reward and punishment sensitivity in avoidance behavior:A computational modeling approach. Behavioural Brain Research, 283, 121-138.
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Construct validation of a triangular love scale. European Journal of Social Psychology, 27(3), 313-335.
Sternberg, R. J. (2006). A duplex theory of love. In R. J. Sternberg & K. Weis (Eds.), The new psychology of love (pp. 184-199). New Haven, CT:Yale University Press.
Strathearn, L., Fonagy, P., Amico, J., & Montague, P. R. (2009). Adult attachment predicts maternal brain and oxytocin response to infant cues. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(13), 2655-2666.
Tomlinson, J. M., Carmichael, C. L., Reis, H. T., & Aron, A. (2010). Affective forecasting and individual differences:Accuracy for relational events and anxious attachment. Emotion, 10(3), 447-453.
Torrubia, R., Ávila, C., Moltó, J., & Caseras, X. (2001). The sensitivity to punishment and sensitivity to reward questionnaire (SPSRQ) as a measure of Gray's anxiety and impulsivity dimensions. Personality & Individual Differences, 31(6), 837-862.
van Hemel-Ruiter, M. E., de Jong, P. J., Ostafin, B. D., & Wiers, R. W. (2015). Reward sensitivity, attentional bias, and executive control in early adolescent alcohol use. Addictive Behaviors, 40, 84-90.
Vrtička, P., Andersson, F., Grandjean, D., Sander, D., & Vuilleumier, P. (2008). Individual attachment style modulates human amygdala and striatum activation during social appraisal. PLoS One, 3(8), e2868.
Vrtička, P., Sander, D., & Vuilleumier, P. (2012). Influence of adult attachment style on the perception of social and non-social emotional scenes. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 29(4), 530-544.
White, G. L. (1981). Some correlates of romantic jealousy. Journal of Personality, 49(2), 129-145.
Xu, X. M., Aron, A., Brown, L., Cao, G. K., Feng, T. Y., & Weng, X. C. (2011). Reward and motivation systems:A brain mapping study of early-stage intense romantic love in Chinese participants. Human Brain Mapping, 32(2), 249-257.