Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2001, Vol. 81, No. 2, 305-321 Copyright 2001 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0O22-3514/01/$5.O0 DOI: 10.1037OT022-3514.81.2.305 The Affective Component of the Secure Base Schema: Affective Priming With Representations of Attachment Security Mario Mikulincer, Gilad Hirschberger, Orit Nachmias, and Omri Gillath Bar-Ilan University Using an affective priming procedure (S. T. Murphy & R. B. Zajonc, 1993), 7 studies examined the effects of the contextual activation of representations of attachment security (secure base schema) on the evaluation of neutral stimuli under either neutral or stressful contexts. In all the studies, participants also reported on their attachment style. Results indicated that the subliminal priming of secure base repre- sentations led to more positive affective reactions to neutral stimuli than did the subliminal priming of neutral or no pictures under both neutral and stressful contexts. Although the subliminal priming of positively valued, attachment-unrelated representations heightened positive evaluations under neutral contexts, it failed to elicit positive affect under stressful contexts. The results also revealed interesting effects of attachment style. The discussion focuses on the affective component of the secure base schema. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969, 1973) is viewed as a valid framework for explaining variations in mental health, emotion regulation, and interpersonal relations. Research has found that the sense of having a secure base (expectations that significant others will be available and supportive in times of need) seems to be a crucial factor underlying emotions, cognitions, goals, and behav- iors in interpersonal situations (see J. A. Feeney, 1999, for a review). In the series of studies reported here we follow this line of research and examine the relevance of attachment theory for explaining the arousal of positive affect. Using an affective prim- ing technique, we ask whether a preactivation of cognitive repre- sentations of the sense of having a secure base can elicit positive affect and lead to more positive evaluation of neutral stimuli even under stressful contexts. The Secure Base Schema According to Bowlby's (1973) theory, interactions with signif- icant others who are available and supportive in times of stress are internalized into inner working models of attachment security and facilitate the formation of what Sroufe and Waters (1977) called a sense of felt security. Waters, Rodrigues, and Ridgeway (1998) viewed this sense as a set of expectations about others' availability and responsiveness in times of stress that are organized around a basic prototype or script (the secure base schema). This script seems to include something like the following if-then proposi- tions: If I encounter an obstacle and become distressed, I can approach a significant other for help; he or she is likely to be available and supportive; I will experience relief and comfort as a result of proximity to this person; I can then return to other activities. Attachment research has consistently found that secure Mario Mikulincer, Gilad Hirschberger, Orit Nachmias, and Omri Gil- lath, Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mario Mikulincer, Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel. Electronic mail may be sent to mikulm@mail.biu.ac.il. base representations, as manifested in relationship-specific and global expectations of attachment security, are positively associ- ated with positive models of self and others, psychological well- being, and effective strategies of affect regulation (see Mikulincer & Florian, 1998; Shaver & Hazan, 1993, for reviews). Although the sense of having a secure base may be quite global and stable and may reflect a person's history of interactions with attachment figures, meaningful interactions with a specific partner might affect that person's beliefs about others' availability and supportiveness (e.g., Baldwin, Keelan, Fehr, Enns, & Koh Ranga- rajoo, 1996; Mikulincer & Arad, 1999). In fact, people could develop a relationship-specific sense of secure base organized around actual experiences with a supportive partner, even if this within-relationship schema does not necessarily fit with a more general, chronic sense of not having a secure base (Collins & Read, 1994). Moreover, the sense of having a secure base can be contextually activated by actual or imagined encounters with avail- able and supportive others, even among persons who have chronic doubts about their secure base (e.g., Baldwin, 1992; Mikulincer, Birnbaum, Woddis, & Nachmias, 2000). The secure base schema has well-delineated behavioral, cogni- tive, and affective components. The behavioral component con- sists of procedural rules that activate proximity seeking on stress arousal (e.g., "If I encounter an obstacle, I can approach a signif- icant other for help") as well as attachment-unrelated behaviors on distress alleviation (e.g., "I can then return to other activities"). The cognitive component consists of expectations about others' goodwill (e.g., "The attachment figure is likely to be supportive"). The affective component consists of anticipated positive affect (e.g., "I will experience relief as a result of proximity to the attachment figure"). In the current series of studies, we focus on this affective component and examine whether the contextual activation of the sense of secure base can elicit positive affect even during stress-inducing episodes. The Affective Component of the Secure Base Schema The secure base schema is basically a representation of the self, the other, and the relationship interaction pattern. However, like 305 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.