AFFECT REGULATION AS A STYLISTIC PROCESS WITHIN ADULT ATTACHMENT

The literature on adult attachment indicates consistent differences in the emotional experiences of individuals according to their attachmen t styles. With the idea that these differences in experience are accom panied by systematic differences in the ways people with different att achment styles regulate their affect, a broad range of findings are re viewed and reorganized according to a process-level explanation of aff ect regulation, including specific mechanisms by which affect is regul ated. This reexamination of findings does suggest consistent, or styli stic, ways of regulating affect that are particular to each attachment style. Variation is particularly evident in the management of attenti on, appraisal styles and the ability to interact with others as agents of affect regulation. Implications for future research are discussed.