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Author ORCID Identifier

N/A

AccessType

Open Access Dissertation

Document Type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Program

Psychology

Year Degree Awarded

2018

Month Degree Awarded

May

First Advisor

Paula Pietromonaco

Second Advisor

Elizabeth Miller

Subject Categories

Marketing | Social Psychology

Abstract

Attachment style functions to regulate affect in relationships. I hypothesized that consumer decisions serve a similar purpose, producing distinct patterns of product preferences depending on people’s attachment goals. In a series of studies, I found that attachment avoidance predicted reduced preference for products framed as meeting closeness relationship goals and greater preference for products framed as meeting autonomy goals. The link between attachment anxiety and product preference depended on consumers’ emotions (S2) and relationship commitment (S3). Attachment style also predicted differences in the extent to which consumers thought about their partners when choosing products and their perceptions of how consumption would benefit their relationship (S4). By studying consumer decisions from the lens of affect regulation in close relationships, I aim to advance attachment theory and offer contributions for optimizing the marketing of relationship-oriented products.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/11926216.0

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