Thank you!!

Thanks so much, Allie!

Thank you, Kevin!

This paper was years in the making, and I’m so happy it is out! Plus, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to do this work with.

Overall, we find evidence that avoidantly attached people believe they are losing themselves due to their relationship, despite no external metrics finding evidence to that effect (a self-loss delusion). The belief that they are losing themselves is linked to lower commitment.

Our external metrics of self-loss included third party ratings of partner-requested changes and actual changes, as well as loss-inducing behavioral choices in a “choose-your-own adventure” story that involved imagining one’s partner making change requests.

Third, we hypothesized a “self-loss delusion” such that people higher in attachment avoidance would perceive self-loss that external metrics (outside the mind of the perceiver) would fail to detect. We find clear support even when using a range of external metrics (see Figure 8).

Second, we hypothesized that self-loss perceptions would mediate the negative association between avoidance and commitment. We do find evidence of this mediation cross-sectionally and longitudinally , even when controlling for intake commitment (see Figure 2).

Across 4 studies, we tested 3 hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that people higher in attachment avoidance would perceive changes due to the relationship as loss, which we find consistent support for.

I’m a social psychologist and would love to be added too!

Salary and benefits are competitive -- minimum starting salary for the assistant professor rank is $97,602 for 2024-2025

On a personal note, having just started in this department, I’ve been so welcomed and supported each step of the way. This is a great group to be a part of!