Training on attachment styles increases secure adults’ attributions of control

The present study examined whether training on attachment styles may change individual self-perceptions. It was argued that secure individuals are more sensitive and less defensive than insecure ones to new information about the self and, thus, are willing to integrate adaptively and deeply process such information, increasing their perception of environmental control, namely their locus of control. Participants completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) as well as Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance Scales (IPC) both before and after attending classes addressing attachment style in related versus unrelated topics. Results revealed that participants who scored high in secure attachment increased their perception of internality and decreased their perception of externality after training on attachment styles, thus displaying a script-relevant information bias. Conversely, insecure individuals tended to maintain their self-perception and evaluation unchanged.