Emotion and Social Intention Effects of Naturalistically Priming Secure Attachment in Older Adults: a Culturally Tailored Intervention

Abstract Attachment security priming has shown positive affective, cognitive, and behavioral effects, but most research has been conducted in laboratory settings with younger adults, and overlooked cultural facets of attachment organization. Using attachment security schema and cultural fluency theories we designed and produced five short films based on the same Covid-19 scenario, which differed in terms of: whether the film primed attachment security (experimental conditions) or positive emotions (control condition) and whether, among the security priming conditions collectivistic primes were also present. Participants who viewed the security-priming films reported higher feelings of security compared to controls. Among the security priming conditions, collectivistic primes elicited stronger feelings of security and intentions to socially connect. Attachment orientations moderated the effects of collectivistic versus non-collectivistic security primes. These findings suggest that film-based priming of secure attachment in older adults can be effective, and that cultural fluency aspects can integrate with attachment security schemas.