Examining the Effect of Attachment Styles on Sternberg\u27s Love Components and on Loyalty, Voice, Neglect, and Exit in Adult Romantic Relationships

Attachment is an emotional bond that is first developed in infancy. The interactions that infants have with primary caregivers typically establish the type of attachment style that they will have throughout their lives. The three main attachment styles developed in infancy are the secure attachment style, the anxious/ambivalent attachment style, and the avoidant attachment style. These styles are not only present in infancy, but they are extremely evident in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. While the psychology domain focuses on attachment at these three levels, it seems to put an emphasis on attachment in romantic relationships. Romantic relationships are interpersonal and comprise of romantic love. Romantic love, according to Sternberg consists of intimacy, passion, and commitment. While the secure attachment style features more positive relationship characteristics, the two insecure attachment styles (anxious/ambivalent and avoidant) feature more negative ones. Therefore, for my first study, I am hypothesizing that securely attached individuals will have higher levels of intimacy, commitment, and passion compared to avoidant individuals, and anxious/ambivalent individuals will have higher levels of passion and intimacy but lower levels of commitment compared to avoidant individuals. In regards to my second study, I am predicting that securely attached individuals will score higher in categories of loyalty and voice, while insecurely attached individuals will score higher in categories of neglect and exit. All four hypotheses were not supported