Why do you see it that way?: the preferences of confrontational behavior as seen through attachment style and facework behavior

Mortenson, StevenIn order to understand why individuals differ in their use of facework strategies, the current study evaluated the two dimensional attachment construct as a predictor of coping style. This study aimed to determine how attachment theory, specifically the constructs of anxiety and avoidance, predict factors within face theory, specifically distancing, pursuing, and criticizing during a romantic conflict. Undergraduate participants (N = 306) completed a questionnaire measuring their attachment style as well as their preferred type of responses to hypothetical interpersonal conflicts with their significant other. Results indicated that avoidance is a significant predictor of distancer behaviors. Additionally, results expressed that anxiety is a significant predictor of distancing and pursuing behaviors. The findings also suggest that criticism is correlated with anxiety, avoidance, and correlated with pursuing behaviors. The current study contributes to attachment theory and face theory research by replicating past findings, but by also considering for the first time the variable of criticism within this context.University of Delaware, Department of CommunicationM.A