title: Muted neural response to distress among securely attached people.
abstract: Neural processes that support individual differences in attachment security and affect regulation are currently unclear. Using electroencephalography, we examined whether securely attached individuals, compared with insecure individuals, would show a muted neural response to experimentally manipulated distress. Participants completed a reaction time task that elicits error commission and the error-related negativity (ERN)-a neural signal sensitive to error-related distress-both before and after a distressing insecurity threat. Despite similar pre-threat levels, secure participants showed a stable ERN, whereas insecure participants showed a post-threat increase in ERN amplitude. These results suggest a neural mechanism that allows securely attached people to regulate distress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-2500, USA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada, and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada kyle.nash@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-2500, USA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada, and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prentice
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-2500, USA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada, and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hirsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-2500, USA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada, and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-2500, USA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada, and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inzlicht
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: attachment; distress; error-related negativity; security