Attachment and Children's Biased Attentional Processing: Evidence for the Exclusion of Attachment-Related Information

Research in both infants and adults demonstrated hat attachment expectations are associated with the attentional processing of attachment-related information. However, this research suffered from methodological issues and has not been validated across ages. Employing a more ecologically valid paradigm to measure attentional processes by virtue of eye tracking, the current study tested the defensive exclusion hypothesis in late childhood. According to this hypothesis insecurely attached children are assumed to defensively exclude attachment-related information We hypothesized that securely attached children process attachment- related neutral and emotional information in a more open manner compared to insecurely attached children. Sixty-two children (59.7% girls, 8-12 years) completed two different tasks, while ye movements were recorded: task one presented an array of neutral faces including mother and unfamiliar women and ask two presented the same with happy and angry faces. Results indicated that more securely attached children looked anger at mother's face regardless of the emotional expression. Also, they tend to have more maintained attention to other's neutral face. Furthermore, more attachment avoidance was related to a reduced total viewing time of mother's neutral, happy, and angry face. Attachment anxiety was not consistently relate he processing of mother's face. Finding support the theoretical assumption that securely attached children have an open manner of processing all attachment related information.