Leiden University Student Repository

Kaal, Myrthe (2022)

Sorry, you are not my type: The effect of adult attachment style on initial attraction

Bachelor thesis | Psychologie (BSc)

Attraction is a bodily feeling that most of us have likely felt before. This feeling is considered highly important when choosing a potential partner. Thus, plethora of studies have focused on uncovering the features that people generally find attractive, such as genuine smiles, coy smiles and provocative clothing. However, the role of personal characteristics that may also influence one’s level of attraction towards these features remains not well understood. In the present thesis, I examine one such characteristic, namely adult attachment style and its effect on attraction. Following the exclusion criteria, nineteen (N = 20; 9 men; 12 women; 7 securely attached; 4 avoidantly attached; 9 anxiously attached) participants were included in this study. Participants were presented with a series of videos of opposite-sex individuals dressed in either conservative or provocative clothing and exhibiting neutral expressions, genuine smiles and coy smiles. They filled in several...Show moreAttraction is a bodily feeling that most of us have likely felt before. This feeling is considered highly important when choosing a potential partner. Thus, plethora of studies have focused on uncovering the features that people generally find attractive, such as genuine smiles, coy smiles and provocative clothing. However, the role of personal characteristics that may also influence one’s level of attraction towards these features remains not well understood. In the present thesis, I examine one such characteristic, namely adult attachment style and its effect on attraction. Following the exclusion criteria, nineteen (N = 20; 9 men; 12 women; 7 securely attached; 4 avoidantly attached; 9 anxiously attached) participants were included in this study. Participants were presented with a series of videos of opposite-sex individuals dressed in either conservative or provocative clothing and exhibiting neutral expressions, genuine smiles and coy smiles. They filled in several questionnaires, including the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ). In line with the expectations, it was found that genuine smiles were rated as significantly more attractive, compared to neutral expressions. Contrary to my expectations, no significant effects were found of coy smiles, clothing or attachment style on initial attraction. Future research may benefit from replication of this thesis with optional improvements, such as a larger sample size, the adoption of Adult Attachment Interview methods (AAI), greater differences between provocative and conservative clothing conditions and a naturalistic setting.Show less

Attraction

attachment

avoidant attachment

anxious attachment

secure attachment

coy smile

clothing style

Author

Kaal, Myrthe

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology

Supervisors

I.Samara

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en