Accuracy and confidence in perceptions of targets’ attachment to former partners: Do judges vary as a function of individual differences in attachment orientation?

Jessica L. Borelli, Xiaolin Peng, Kajung Hong, Nicole M. Froidevaux, David A. Sbarra

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study builds on prior research by examining the degree to which individual differences in judges’ attachment orientations predict their accuracy and confidence in rating targets’ ongoing attachment to former partners. Targets were recently separated/divorced adults (N = 132) who described their separation experiences. Naïve judges (NStudy 1 = 93, NStudy 2 = 296) read transcripts of targets’ separation narratives and rated targets’ strength of ongoing attachment to their former partners. Judges’ high accuracy did not vary by judges’ attachment orientations. However, greater judge avoidance was associated with lower confidence in ratings. Greater attachment anxiety was linked with weaker associations between accuracy and confidence. We discuss findings in terms of their potential implications for partner selection and future studies that can assess this link.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-12
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Research in Personality
Volume79
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2019

Keywords

  • Accuracy in person perception
  • Attachment
  • Confidence
  • Divorce
  • Partner selection

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • General Psychology

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