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Mario Mikulincer

Publications and source records attributed to Mario Mikulincer.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Attachment-related psychodynamics.

Because there has been relatively little communication and cross-fertilization between the two major lines of research on adult attachment, one based on coded narrative assessments of defensive processes, the other on simple self-reports of 'attachment style' in close relationships, we here explain and review recent work based on a combination of self-report and other kinds of method, including behavioral observations and unconscious priming techniques. The review indicates that considerable progress has been made in testing central hypotheses derived from attachment theory and in exploring unconscious, psychodynamic processes related to affect-regulation and attachment-system activation. The combination of self-report assessment of attachment style and experimental manipulation of other theoretically pertinent variables allows researchers to test causal hypotheses. We present a model of normative and individual-difference processes related to attachment and identify areas in which further research is needed and likely to be successful. One long-range goal is to create a more complete theory of personality built on attachment theory and other object relations theories.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Attachment security in couple relationships: a systemic model and its implications for family dynamics.

Theory and research on adult attachment style emphasize the crucial role that the sense of attachment security plays in the formation and maintenance of couple relationships. In the present article, we review studies that have examined the contribution of adult attachment style to relational cognitions, emotions, and behaviors as well as to the formation, quality, and stability of dating and marital relationships. We discuss some of the measurement and design issues raised by this research. Based on the reviewed findings, we provide an integrative, systemic theoretical model delineating how the links between partners' attachment security and the quality of their couple relationship occurs. Finally, we discuss the implications of this model for the understanding of how attachment style and couple relationships combine to affect the family system in general, and parent-child relationships and children's developmental outcomes, in particular.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

The effects of mortality salience on relationship strivings and beliefs: the moderating role of attachment style.

This series of studies examined mortality salience effects on relationship strivings, while exploring the moderating role of attachment style. In the three studies, Israeli university students completed an attachment style scale, were assigned to a mortality salience or neutral condition, and then completed scales tapping specific relationship strivings and beliefs. Study 1 (N = 104) examined participants' willingness to initiate social interactions with a hypothetical same-sex person; Study 2 (N = 100) examined appraisals of interpersonal competence; and Study 3 (N = 108) examined reports of rejection sensitivity. Findings revealed that mortality salience led to more willingness to initiate social interactions, lower rejection sensitivity and more positive appraisals of interpersonal competence than a control condition. These mortality salience effects were found mainly among persons who scored low on attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance. Findings were discussed in light of the terror management function of close relationships.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The anxiety-buffering function of close relationships: evidence that relationship commitment acts as a terror management mechanism.

Three studies examined the terror management function of romantic commitment. In Study 1 (N = 94), making mortality salient led to higher reports of romantic commitment on the Dimensions of Commitment Inventory (J. M. Adams & W. H. Jones, 1997) than control conditions. In Study 2 (N = 60), the contextual salience of thoughts about romantic commitment reduced the effects of mortality salience on judgments of social transgressions. In Study 3 (N = 100), the induction of thoughts about problems in romantic relationships led to higher accessibility of death-related thoughts than did the induction of thoughts about either academic problems or a neutral theme. The findings expand terror management theory, emphasizing the anxiety-buffering function of close relationships.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Activation of the attachment system in adulthood: threat-related primes increase the accessibility of mental representations of attachment figures.

Three studies explored the effects of subliminal threat on the activation of representations of attachment figures. This accessibility was measured in a lexical decision task and a Stroop task following threat- or neutral-word primes, and was compared with the accessibility of representations of other close persons, known but not close persons, and unknown persons. Participants also reported on their attachment style. Threat primes led to increased accessibility of representations of attachment figures. This effect was specific to attachment figures and was replicated across tasks and experiments. Attachment anxiety heightened accessibility of representations of attachment figures even in neutral contexts, whereas attachment avoidance inhibited this activation when the threat prime was the word separation. These effects were not, explained by trait anxiety. The discussion focuses on the dynamics of attachment-system activation in adulthood.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The influence of warning signal timing and cognitive preparation on the aversiveness of electric shock.

Many medical and dental procedures are noxious. Finding an optimal way of warning patients concerning the aversive procedures could help them to cope better. A model for the effective use of a warning signal in coping with pain posited that a person needs enough time to be able to react and should possess the skills necessary to utilize the time effectively. It was felt that a very short warning period, e.g., 5 sec, could not be long enough, while a 180 sec warning period would in and of itself become aversive. Reactions to electric shock were obtained from 36 paid, volunteer subjects who were each tested on a within-subject, counterbalanced order at 4 different warning periods: 5, 30, 60, and 180 sec. The subjects were divided into 3 groups: (1) the experimental group was provided with a pretested self-instructional booklet to learn a variety of pain control techniques; (2) the placebo group was provided with a self-instructional booklet on citizenship; (3) the control group waited quietly for 13 min. No significant results were obtained for the different pain-coping conditions. Significant differences, however, were obtained for the various warning periods. Maximum skin resistance changes, higher ratings of pain and of anxiety were obtained for the 60 and 180 compared to the 5 and 30 sec warning periods. Maximum heart rate was obtained for the 30 sec warning. Results were discussed in terms of the psychological meaning of the various measures as well as their clinical implications.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Subject versus experimenter control in the reaction to pain.

Although perceived control has been used as a means of reducing the reaction to pain, conceptually, much is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of control as a mediating variable in the reaction to pain as a function of the predispositional variables of perceived self-efficacy and trait anxiety. Self-efficacy refers to the subject's premeasured, perceived ability to control his pain. The type of control provided either to the subject or the experimenter was varied over 5 independent groups. Predictability of occurrence of the pain stimulation was varied on a within-subject basis. Results mirrored the complexity of the problem. Overall, when subjects were given decisional control alone the largest reactions to pain were obtained. Subjects given decisional plus behavioral control yielded the lowest reactions to pain. Both self-efficacy and trait anxiety significantly were predictive of outcomes. Unexpectedly, experimenter control reduced the reaction to pain among those with high self-efficacy, but increased the reaction among those with low self-efficacy. Results of trait anxiety appear to indicate the need to keep anxiety within bounds. Adding responsibility such as control to an individual who is already anxious may increase the reaction to pain. In general, it appears that control that is perceived as inadequate may be worse than not having any control. The theoretical and methodological implications of these results were discussed.

Adolescent↗