Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aspelmeier, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Kerns, K. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Love and School: Attachment/Exploration Dynamics in College

Jeffery E. Aspelmeier

Radford Universityjaspelme{at}Radford.edu

Kathryn A. Kerns

Kent State University

Two studies tested the hypothesis that secure attachment facilitates exploration at college. Also, these studies examined how types of insecure attachment differentially predict exploration. In Study 1, 200 undergraduates completed self-report measures of attachment and exploration. In Study 2, 69 undergraduates completed these same measures, and two tasks that measured exploratory behavior. Ratings of attachment styles were differentially related to self-reports of exploration (e.g., security was related to curiosity and comfort with academic social interactions, whereas preoccupation and fearfulness were related to anxiety about academic performance). Sex differences were found in exploratory behavior. For males, dismissiveness and general insecurity were correlated with low levels of exploration of novel objects and relationship information. Anxiousness was correlated with low levels of exploration of novel objects and high levels of exploration of relationship information. For females, dismissiveness was correlated with low levels of exploration of relationship information.

Key Words: attachment • college • curiosity • exploration

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 20, No. 1, 5-30 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/02654075030201001
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?