Vacaru Stefania Victorita, Waters Theodore E A, Hunnius Sabine
New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 7;15(1):8015. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-92347-4.
Early attachment relationships exert lasting effects on psychophysical health across the lifespan. Limited behavioral evidence suggests that these effects stem from how individuals perceive, interpret, and respond to their environment. This study investigated whether adults' attachment representations modulate autonomic responses to happy and sad facial expressions, evidenced by changes in pupil size. We utilized a sample of healthy adults (N = 100; 68% females, 18-35 years, prevalently White European). In an eye-tracking experiment, we assessed pupil dilation to happy and sad facial expressions (n = 152 trials). Dismissing and preoccupied attachment orientations were assessed as continuous dimensions via self-report. Linear mixed models revealed that individuals with higher scores on dismissing orientations exhibited a significant increase in pupil dilation in response to sad and not happy expressions. No significant effects were observed for preoccupied orientations, age, or sex. These findings suggest that individuals with increased scores on dismissing attachment show heightened arousal to negative emotions.
早期依恋关系对一生的身心健康都有持久影响。有限的行为证据表明，这些影响源于个体对环境的感知、解释和反应方式。本研究调查了成年人的依恋表征是否会调节对快乐和悲伤面部表情的自主反应，以瞳孔大小变化为证据。我们选取了100名健康成年人作为样本（68%为女性，年龄在18至35岁之间，主要是欧洲白人）。在一项眼动追踪实验中，我们评估了对快乐和悲伤面部表情的瞳孔扩张情况（共152次试验）。通过自我报告将疏离型和痴迷型依恋取向作为连续维度进行评估。线性混合模型显示，疏离取向得分较高的个体在面对悲伤而非快乐表情时，瞳孔扩张显著增加。未观察到痴迷取向、年龄或性别有显著影响。这些发现表明，疏离型依恋得分增加的个体对负面情绪的唤醒增强。
