The DOI matches its Crossref record; 8 of the 8 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Don’t Get Your Hopes Up: Avoidantly Attached Individuals Perceive Lower Social Reward When There Is Potential for Intimacy
Abstract
We examine whether lower expectations for social reward selectively applied to high intimacy contexts may help avoidantly attached individuals minimize distress from reward loss. Studies 1, 2, and 4 demonstrated that avoidant attachment was negatively associated with perceived intimacy potential in relationships involving approach of closeness (current/future partners), but not for relationships less associated with approach of closeness (ex-partners). Studies 3 and 5 manipulated the potential for intimacy among dating prospects. Avoidant attachment was negatively associated with romantic interest in high intimacy targets but not low intimacy targets. This effect was mediated by perceived responsiveness. Studies 4 and 5 rule out perceived dissimilarity to responsive targets as a mechanism. Study 6 demonstrated that avoidants’ lower expectations for connection are associated with less anticipated distress from reward loss. These results suggest that avoidant individuals may circumvent attachment system activation by perceiving lower opportunity for connection when there is potential for intimacy.
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In the citing paper
“secure individuals are comfortable with intimacy, avoidant individuals strive to minimise it and maintain distance, anxious individuals seek it excessively, and ambivalent individuals oscillate between desire and withdrawal (Bartholomew & Horowitz 1991;Feeney & Noller 1990;Spielmann et al. 2013).”
From Not a Silver Bullet for Loneliness: How Attachment and Age Shape Intimacy with AI Companions (2026) · cites this paper as Spielmann et al. 2013
In the citing paper
“secure individuals are comfortable with intimacy, avoidant individuals strive to minimise it and maintain distance, anxious individuals seek it excessively, and ambivalent individuals oscillate between desire and withdrawal (Bartholomew & Horowitz 1991;Feeney & Noller 1990;Spielmann et al. 2013).”
From Not a Silver Bullet for Loneliness: How Attachment and Age Shape Intimacy with AI Companions (2026) · cites this paper as Spielmann et al. 2013
In the citing paper
“Avoidant users, who typically down-regulate intimacy (Spielmann et al. 2013), seem to deepen artificial intimacy when relationships appear controllable and safe.”
From Not a Silver Bullet for Loneliness: How Attachment and Age Shape Intimacy with AI Companions (2026) · cites this paper as Spielmann et al. 2013
In the citing paper
“Avoidantly attached individuals typically down-regulate intimacy in human relationships (Spielmann et al. 2013), yet the reduced risk structure of human-AI interaction may render artificial partners more acceptable.”
From Not a Silver Bullet for Loneliness: How Attachment and Age Shape Intimacy with AI Companions (2026) · cites this paper as Spielmann et al. 2013
In the citing paper
“secure individuals are comfortable with intimacy, avoidant individuals strive to minimise it and maintain distance, anxious individuals seek it excessively, and ambivalent individuals oscillate between desire and withdrawal (Bartholomew & Horowitz 1991;Feeney & Noller 1990;Spielmann et al. 2013).”
From Not a Silver Bullet for Loneliness: How Attachment and Age Shape Intimacy with AI Companions (2026) · cites this paper as Spielmann et al. 2013
In the citing paper
“secure individuals are comfortable with intimacy, avoidant individuals strive to minimise it and maintain distance, anxious individuals seek it excessively, and ambivalent individuals oscillate between desire and withdrawal (Bartholomew & Horowitz 1991;Feeney & Noller 1990;Spielmann et al. 2013).”
From Not a Silver Bullet for Loneliness: How Attachment and Age Shape Intimacy with AI Companions (2026) · cites this paper as Spielmann et al. 2013
Citations
Cites
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Self-citationJudd, C. M., Westfall, J., & Kenny, D. A. (2012) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0028347 · Cited by 1,236
Laurenceau, J.-P., Barrett, L. F., & Pietromonaco, P. R. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1238 · Cited by 1,064
Sex Differences in Romantic Attachment: A Meta-Analysis
Del Giudice, M. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167210392789 · Cited by 441
Avoiding Interference: Adult Attachment and Emotional Processing Biases
Edelstein, R. S., & Gillath, O. (2008) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167207310024 · Cited by 169
Optimism about Love Relationships: General vs Specific Lessons from One's Personal Experiences
Carnelley, K. B., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407592091001 · Cited by 139
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 30
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Not a Silver Bullet for Loneliness: How Attachment and Age Shape Intimacy with AI Companions
Ciriello, R., Gal, U., & Turel, O. (2026) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2602.12476 · Cited by 4
Metadata
- Authors
- Spielmann, S. S., Maxwell, J. A., MacDonald, G., & Baratta, P. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-02
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 219-236
- ISSN
- 0146-1672
- 1552-7433
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 8
- Language
- en
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