Relating pattern deviancy aversion to stigma and prejudice

Anxious attachment as an antecedent of people's aversion towards pattern deviancy

“…In support of this possibility, anxiously attached individuals lack a secure base from which to explore irregularities in their environment (Ainsworth et al, 1978;Bowlby, 1973). For instance, anxious attachment has been linked to heightened prejudice (e.g., Di Pentima & Toni, 2009;Mikulincer, 1997;Mikulincer & Shaver, 2001), and aversion towards pattern deviancy also relates to prejudice (Gollwitzer et al, 2017). For instance, anxious attachment is related to engaging in compulsive rituals to reduce stress (American Psychiatric Association, 2000;Doron, Sar-El, Mikulincer, & Talmor, 2012).…”

“…For instance, anxious attachment is related to engaging in compulsive rituals to reduce stress (American Psychiatric Association, 2000;Doron, Sar-El, Mikulincer, & Talmor, 2012). Researchers have also found participants from Asian cultures and with Asian backgrounds to exhibit higher levels of anxious attachment than those from Western cultures (e.g., Wang & Mallinckrodt, 2006;Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt, & Zakalik, 2004), and members of East Asian cultures exhibit a greater dislike of non-social pattern deviancy than do European Americans (Gollwitzer et al, 2017;Kim & Markus, 1999). For instance, anxious attachment has been linked to heightened prejudice (e.g., Di Pentima & Toni, 2009;Mikulincer, 1997;Mikulincer & Shaver, 2001), and aversion towards pattern deviancy also relates to prejudice (Gollwitzer et al, 2017).…”

“…We did so to control for the possibility that anxious attachment predicts pattern deviancy aversion simply because anxious attachment induces a general aversion towards negative stimuli (pattern deviant stimuli are generally evaluated negatively; Gollwitzer et al, 2017). We did so to control for the possibility that anxious attachment predicts pattern deviancy aversion simply because anxious attachment induces a general aversion towards negative stimuli (pattern deviant stimuli are generally evaluated negatively; Gollwitzer et al, 2017).…”

“…People's prejudice and discrimination is commonly directed towards those who break societal regularities, ranging from deviancy in terms of group-identity (e.g., minorities in the United States), to character trait deviancy (e.g., social-norm breakers), and to physical deviancy (e.g., the physically handicapped; Goffman, 1963;Gollwitzer, Marshall, Wang, & Bargh, 2017;Gollwitzer & Marshall, 2019). People's prejudice and discrimination is commonly directed towards those who break societal regularities, ranging from deviancy in terms of group-identity (e.g., minorities in the United States), to character trait deviancy (e.g., social-norm breakers), and to physical deviancy (e.g., the physically handicapped; Goffman, 1963;Gollwitzer, Marshall, Wang, & Bargh, 2017;Gollwitzer & Marshall, 2019).…”

“…Specifically, Gollwitzer et al (2017) created such stimuli and documented people's aversion towards pattern deviancy. European American and East Asian adults, as well as children as young as three years old, exhibited an aversion towards non-social broken patterns of geometric shapes (compared to their unbroken counterparts).…”