Negative self-synchronization: will I change to be like you when it is bad for me?
The current research examined whether people will attempt to modify internal aspects of the self to make them congruent with others, even when those modifications have negative implications for the self, a phenomenon we refer to as negative self-synchronization. We proposed that negative self-synchronization will occur only for individuals who are securely attached. Across 4 experiments, participants who were high in secure attachment were more likely than those low in attachment security to engage in negative self-synchronization (Experiments 1-4). Attachment style did not moderate positive self-synchronization (Experiments 1 and 2). In addition, priming secure attachment increased negative self-synchronization among insecure participants (Experiments 2 and 3). Conversely, priming insecure attachment decreased negative self-synchronization among secure participants (Experiment 4). Implications of these findings for social synchronization processes, the need to belong, and attachment security are discussed.
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA. sgabriel@buffalo.edu
Shira
S
Gabriel
Kerry
K
Kawakami
Christopher
C
Bartak
So-Jin
SJ
Kang
Nikki
N
Mann
D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D003463:Cues; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012919:Social Behavior; D012933:Social Identification; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult