My Social Comfort Zone: Attachment Anxiety Shapes Peripersonal and Interpersonal Space

Overview

Journal iScience

Publisher Cell Press

Date 2023 Jan 31

PMID 36718368

Authors

Mariana von Mohr

Paulo C Silva

Eleonora Vagnoni

Angelika Bracher

Tommaso Bertoni

Andrea Serino

Michael J Banissy

Paul M Jenkinson

Aikaterini Fotopoulou

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Following positive social exchanges, the neural representation of interactive space around the body (peripersonal space; PPS) expands, whereas we also feel consciously more comfortable being closer to others (interpersonal distance; ID). However, it is unclear how relational traits, such as attachment styles, interact with the social malleability of our PPS and ID. A first, exploratory study (N=48) using a visuo-tactile, augmented reality task, found that PPS depended on the combined effects of social context and attachment anxiety. A follow-up preregistered study (N = 68), showed that those with high attachment anxiety demonstrated a sharper differentiation between peripersonal and extrapersonal space, even in a non-social context. A final, preregistered large-scale survey (N = 19,417) found that people scoring high in attachment anxiety prefer closer ID and differentiate their ID less based on feelings of social closeness. We conclude that attachment anxiety reduces the social malleability of both peripersonal and interpersonal space.

Citing Articles

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