Attachment and Children’s Biased Attentional Processing: Evidence for the Exclusion of Attachment-Related Information

Abstract

Research in both infants and adults demonstrated that attachment expectations are associated with the attentional processing of attachment-related information. However, this research suffered from methodological issues and has not been validated across ages. Employing a more ecologically valid paradigm to measure attentional processes by virtue of eye tracking, the current study tested the defensive exclusion hypothesis in late childhood. According to this hypothesis, insecurely attached children are assumed to defensively exclude attachment-related information. We hypothesized that securely attached children process attachment- related neutral and emotional information in a more open manner compared to insecurely attached children. Sixty-two children (59.7% girls, 8–12 years) completed two different tasks, while eye movements were recorded: task one presented an array of neutral faces including mother and unfamiliar women and task two presented the same with happy and angry faces. Results indicated that more securely attached children looked longer at mother’s face regardless of the emotional expression. Also, they tend to have more maintained attention to mother’s neutral face. Furthermore, more attachment avoidance was related to a reduced total viewing time of mother’s neutral, happy, and angry face. Attachment anxiety was not consistently related to the processing of mother’s face. Findings support the theoretical assumption that securely attached children have an open manner of processing all attachment-related information.

Children's attentional breadth around their mother: Comparing stimulus‐driven vs. cognitively controlled processes

“…The current study's first research question focused on whether the breadth of children's attentional field around their mother is a more stimulus‐driven or a more cognitively controlled process. Results were in line with research that used attention paradigms during which children had more cognitive control regarding whether they could orient their attention to their mother vs. unfamiliar women (Bosmans et al, ; Vandevivere et al, ). Both the current studies and the studies of Bosmans et al () and Vandevivere et al () show that children have a stronger attentional focus on their mother compared to other, unfamiliar women.…”

“…Results were in line with research that used attention paradigms during which children had more cognitive control regarding whether they could orient their attention to their mother vs. unfamiliar women (Bosmans et al, ; Vandevivere et al, ). Both the current studies and the studies of Bosmans et al () and Vandevivere et al () show that children have a stronger attentional focus on their mother compared to other, unfamiliar women. The current study adds to previous research by demonstrating that attentional preference for the mother occurs also and even more strongly at a stimulus‐driven level.…”

“…At present, most evidence that children have an attentional preference for their mother stems from studies that measure attention as a cognitively controlled process. For example, research shows that when 8‐ to 12‐year‐old children are exposed to pictures displaying their mother as well as unfamiliar women for a longer time (10 s) without any instructions or tasks, they freely direct their gaze longer toward their mother (Vandevivere, Braet, Bosmans, Mueller, & De Raedt, ). With regard to more stimulus‐driven processes, evidence is less clear because most existing paradigms rely on presentation times that allow strategic cognitive processes (e.g., Dykas & Cassidy, ; Zimmerman & Iwanski, ).…”

Attachment in Middle Childhood: Associations With Information Processing

“…Vandevivere, Braet, Bosmans, Mueller, and de Raedt () studied attachment and biased attentional processing in childhood (8–12 years) with an eye‐tracking paradigm. They presented neutral and emotional facial expressions of mother and female strangers and assessed attachment style explicitly by self‐report.…”

From trust in caregivers’ support to exploration: The role of openness to negative affect and self‐regulation

“…The current paper demonstrated in two preadolescent samples that trust in caregivers’ support was linked with exploration through a serial indirect effect involving openness to negative affect and self‐regulation. This finding is in line with theory and research showing that openness to negative affect develops in the context of a secure attachment relationship (e.g., Bowlby, ; Vandevivere, Braet & Bosmans, 2014a). Furthermore the results support the theoretical model of Inzlicht and Legault () postulating that people who are more open to negative affect will be more sensitive to when their intended and actual behavior is in conflict, which will instigate them to regulate their attention and behavior (e.g., Wenk‐Sormaz, ).…”