Attachment, Emotional Experiencing, and Physiological Response During Couple Interaction

In this master’s thesis, I conducted a study using data from 63 hetereosexual couples from a previous research study done by Dr. Ryan Seedall. These couples participated in a micro-intervention where each partner discussed personal issues for three to four minutes while the other received guidance on supportive responses, promoting open communication. Using this data, I conducted a coding project studying the relationship between attachment styles and emotional experiencing, specifically how attachment styles intersect with emotional experiences, moment-to-moment feelings, and physiological arousal. This coding project involved utilizing the Emotional Experiencing Scale (EXP) by Klein and colleagues (1986) to observe couple interactions. Results indicated that higher attachment anxiety correlated with increased emotional experiences during discussions, especially when both partners had high anxiety. Conversely, those with high attachment avoidance showed less emotional engagement regarding their partner's issues. Securely attached individuals experienced greater emotional peaks, particularly when male partners engaged positively in discussions about early childhood. Additionally, men with higher emotional involvement displayed significant physiological arousal, while women with greater emotional engagement reported more positive feelings and higher relationship satisfaction.