THE ROLE OF ATTACHMENT STYLE AND RELATIONSHIP STATUS OF THE PERCEIVERIN THE PERCEPTIONS OF ROMANTIC PARTNER

Intimate relationships can influence interpersonal perception because they are characterized by emotional involvement and close attachment b etween the members of the dyad; thus, attachment theory and research m ay shed light on interpersonal perception within intimate relationship s. In this study, a probability sample of 179 men and 198 women who we re married or involved in a committed dating relationship, was examine d to test the hypothesis that attachment style and degree of public co mmitment to the relationship (i.e. marital status) would predict perce ptions of partners. Secure individuals had positive appraisals of thei r partner regardless of marital status, suggesting that secure individ uals do not need concrete indicators of commitment to feel positively towards their partners. For insecure attachment styles, perception of partner was associated with the degree of public commitment as well as sex and attachment style of the perceiver. These findings highlight t he need for more studies recognizing how differences in sex and marita l status affect the association between attachment styles and percepti ons of partners.