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Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building Paradigm

This study aims to improve self-reported attachment anxiety and avoidance through an online relationship-building paradigm. Seventy-seven undergraduate participants completed an online attachment-focused paradigm in which they developed a relationship with a virtual partner, and fifty participants s...

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Publicado en:Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
Autores principales: Benjamin N. Johnson, Nancy G. Bliwise
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology 2017-10-01
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Acceso en línea:http://ijpr.psychopen.eu/article/view/254
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spelling doaj-art-2b8b1107beef4e55a3daeb429faa7eba2025-08-19T18:53:18ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologyInterpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships1981-64722017-10-0111112110.5964/ijpr.v11i1.254ijpr.v11i1.254Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building ParadigmBenjamin N. Johnson0Nancy G. Bliwise1Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USADepartment of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USAThis study aims to improve self-reported attachment anxiety and avoidance through an online relationship-building paradigm. Seventy-seven undergraduate participants completed an online attachment-focused paradigm in which they developed a relationship with a virtual partner, and fifty participants successfully completed a second laboratory-based phase of the study. During the online phase, all participants completed the Experiences in Close Relationships―Revised questionnaire (ECR-R), the experimental group engaged in an interactive relationship-formation story with a virtual partner designed to enhance secure attachment, and control participants engaged in the program without guidance. Participants then visited the laboratory, were asked to recall the online interaction, and again completed the ECR-R. Overall, participants exhibited a significant decrease in their attachment anxiety, but not avoidance; however, change in attachment security did not differ based on study group. Change in the experimental condition was attributed to the secure focus of the guided interaction with the virtual partner. Change in the control condition, on the other hand, was attributed to general relationship practice and behavioral principles of operant conditioning. These results provide preliminary evidence for the effect of a virtual practice relationship on attitudes towards real-life attachments to significant others.http://ijpr.psychopen.eu/article/view/254anxietyattachmentavataravoidanceonlinerelationships
institution Directory of Open Access Journals
collection DOAJ
format Article
author Benjamin N. Johnson
Nancy G. Bliwise
spellingShingle Benjamin N. Johnson
Nancy G. Bliwise
Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building Paradigm
Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
10.5964/ijpr.v11i1.254
Anxiety
Attachment
Avatar
Avoidance
Online
Relationships
author_facet Benjamin N. Johnson
Nancy G. Bliwise
author_sort Benjamin N. Johnson
title Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building Paradigm
title_short Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building Paradigm
title_full Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building Paradigm
title_fullStr Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building Paradigm
title_full_unstemmed Your Responses Guide Me: Decreased Attachment Anxiety Through an Online Relationship-Building Paradigm
title_sort your responses guide me: decreased attachment anxiety through an online relationship-building paradigm
publisher PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
publisher_facet PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
container_title Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
container_title_facet Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
issn 1981-6472
publishDate 2017-10-01
container_volume 11
container_issue 1
container_startPage 1
container_endPage 21
doi 10.5964/ijpr.v11i1.254
description This study aims to improve self-reported attachment anxiety and avoidance through an online relationship-building paradigm. Seventy-seven undergraduate participants completed an online attachment-focused paradigm in which they developed a relationship with a virtual partner, and fifty participants successfully completed a second laboratory-based phase of the study. During the online phase, all participants completed the Experiences in Close Relationships―Revised questionnaire (ECR-R), the experimental group engaged in an interactive relationship-formation story with a virtual partner designed to enhance secure attachment, and control participants engaged in the program without guidance. Participants then visited the laboratory, were asked to recall the online interaction, and again completed the ECR-R. Overall, participants exhibited a significant decrease in their attachment anxiety, but not avoidance; however, change in attachment security did not differ based on study group. Change in the experimental condition was attributed to the secure focus of the guided interaction with the virtual partner. Change in the control condition, on the other hand, was attributed to general relationship practice and behavioral principles of operant conditioning. These results provide preliminary evidence for the effect of a virtual practice relationship on attitudes towards real-life attachments to significant others.
topic Anxiety
Attachment
Avatar
Avoidance
Online
Relationships
topic_facet Anxiety
Attachment
Avatar
Avoidance
Online
Relationships
url http://ijpr.psychopen.eu/article/view/254
work_keys_str_mv AT benjaminnjohnson yourresponsesguidemedecreasedattachmentanxietythroughanonlinerelationshipbuildingparadigm
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first_indexed 2023-03-24T16:02:14Z
last_indexed 2025-09-27T09:01:30Z
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